The Life And Death Of Lili Kwan - Chapter 2

When we arrive at Lili's flat I have to enter alone. For some reason there is no alarm, which is odd considering the city we live in. But to my surprise a knife almost stabs me in the face when I open the door and if it wasn't for my super senses that I can dodge it I would have ended up with a very nasty headwound at best.

Then I start searching. I can't really go by scent since everything smells like Lili here. So I have to go through every room. I start with the living room, but nothing. Then I go to the bedroom and this time I'm lucky since the amulet is laying on the room's floor. Lili must have dropped it. So I garb it and go back to Oswald.

When I'm outside I wave the medalion in front of Oswald victoriously.

'Did you find it? Great. Are you sure it will work?' he asks with concern. He seems to be unsure about this whole thing.

'Oswald, I hope so because I have no other idea.'

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Lili's POV

It's like waking up from a long sleep. Not a particularly good sleep I might add, considering I still feel very groggy. And for some reason there is that weird taste in my mouth. What could it be? It's similar to… No it can't be. Then I look around. Where the hell am I? It looks like some dungeon. Then I see Oswald and Sam looking at me with a concerned face.

'Lili, are you with us?' Oswald asks. What kind of stupid question is that?

'Well, clearly. I'm in the same room as you.'

'Thank god it worked!' Sam says. They both look relieved.

'What happened?'

'Don't worry, we will explain everything to you in a minute.' Oswald says as Sam helps me stand up. Then I look down and I can see the dryed up blood on my shirt.

'What the...'

'Uhm… don't worry Lili, we will get to that too.'

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We are in Oswald's living room. I'm still processing what I've been told. What do they mean that I'm dead?

'That's ridiculous! If I would be dead then how comes...' but before I could finish my sentence Oswald runs a knife through my heart. 'Oswald, what the hell?!'

'Oswald! Seriously? What is wrong with you?!' Sam yells at him in anger.

'Come now, how could I prove my point otherwise? And she can't die anyway.'

Sam rolls their eyes at him. But then after the shock, I realize that despite being stabbed through the heart I'm still standing.

'What is going on with me?'

'Uhm… let me explain.' then Sam steps forward. 'We believe that you contracted the zombie virus and even died from it, but the amulet I gave to you masked the symptoms and resurrected you. Or at least that's what we think happened.'

'Oh...' I need a minute to compose myself. 'But how comes that you two aren't surprised?'

They glance at each other. This is suspicious, now I'm pretty sure there is smeething going on with them too.

'Well, Lili.' Oswald says. 'Since there is no need to be secretive around you anymore, I believe I can come forward. I have became a vampire.'

This hits me like a cannon ball. But why am I surprised? It even makes sense now that he acted so off sometimes, like his leg healed miraculously and I couldn't even meet him at daylight. Zombies, vampires, do we need more?

'Oh... uhm… wow.' This is all I can say after the initial shock. 'And what about you Sam? Do you hide something from me too?'

'Uhh...' they seem to be hesitant. 'The thing is Lili... I'm a werewolf.'

This must be a joke, right? Give me a minute! All this nonsense at once overwhelms me so much that I burst into laughter.

'Hahaha... Are you kidding me?! Werewolves ang vampires and zombies! Hahaha... This is ridiculous!' I need a couple of minutes to get myself together and as I'm calming down I can see Oswald and Sam looking at each other with concern. 'Why didn't you tell me all of this? I was hoping you wouldn't keep secrets from me anymore.'

'I wanted to protect you.' Oswald answers. 'And I think you wouldn't believe it anyway.'

Well this is probably true. But we won't be able to find out, because… well, because of what happened to me. At this point denying all of this is pointless.

'What about your kid?' I ask.

'He has become a vampire too.'

'It was you, right?'

'I didn't have any choice, it was for his own good.' he says defensively.

'Ahh, yeah I forgot, you always know what is good for others.' am I reproachful? Maybe. But let's be honest he pretty much deserves it.

'Oswald, it's time.' Sam says. Oswald looks at his watch.

'He is right, it's almost dawn. I'm sorry Lili, we need to retreat now.'

'Yeah, sure.' I say. Then they leave me alone in the living room. Now I just have to figure out what on Earth should I do now.

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I'm awake for almost a day now and I'm still not tired. This might be the side effect of being undead. I have no idea what should I do with myself, so I go for a walk. At first it seems like a good idea, but soon I start to feel disoriented. The heartbeat of the people I walk among feels a bit too loud and the scent of their body is a bit too strong. And then the urge to attack them and consume their flesh becomes palpable. I have no idea what should I do, I don't want to kill people but I feel like the starvation is driving me crazy.

Then a fly appears in my side vision. As it flies by I reach to it and to my surprise I'm able to catch it. It amuses me, I guess my reflexes became better too. I hold it for a moment, then an idea pops into my mind. What if I eat this one? I hesitate a bit, what if it tastes gross? Then I give in. The texture is crunchy at first then chewy, and honestly doesn't taste that bad. There's something funny about this situation. What if I mainly live off of flies and other bugs just like a frog? I actually wouldn't mind it. And I don't feel that I want to jump on others and eat their flesh anymore. This definitely makes things easier.

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As I'm walking back home I can hear voices of struggle and when I turn around a corner I can see two boys facing a large guy. There is something weird about the kids, it's almost like they were frozen in time based on their outfits. One of them, the boy in a bomber jacket and red shirt, is trying to fight the big guy. I have to say his legwork is not the best. And even though his opposition is way bigger than him, there are ways to bring him down. And there it is, the boy is smacked to the ground. I become invested in this fight so I decide to stay for the outcome. The other boy is staying out of the fight but he seems to be busy with something else. When his friend ends up on the ground again he hits their opponent with some weird weapon that turns the big guy into a little guy so they can put him into a jar. As I watch this odd event I realize why these boys feel off. They are also dead.

As they get themselves together I go closer to them and stop behind them. They don't even notice me because when they turn around they let out a scream.

'Funny, I was never afraid of ghosts. Turns out they are the ones who are afraid of me.' I note.

'Are… are you able to see us?' asks the boy with the suit and bowtie.

'Yes. My name is Lili. Newly deceased. I saw your technique, kiddo.' I say to the kid in the bomber jacket, which makes his face light up. 'Not very great.' as I say this his face falters.

'Why? Can you do better?' he asks.

'In fact, I can.' I say then suddenly something crosses my mind. It was a long time since I taught kids for martial arts and to be honest I miss it. But in my current state… well let's just say a ghost child is as good as I could get as a student. 'I can teach you a couple of things if you would like to.'

The boy smiles again. 'That would be aces.'

'Great. Come with me then.'

I'm sure it will be fun. And at least I will have something to do until everyone else is asleep.

END

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