My heart’s pulsation was drastically accelerated. With every thud in my chest, I could feel the blood in my veins rushing through me frenetically. My body was boiling hot and the taste of iron was settled on my tongue. Though I couldn’t view myself clearly I could tell that my appearance was slightly altered into a blood-craving monstrosity. My vision was dark and cloudy, only the crimson hues of the scent trails of blood could I perceive.

Following the crimson scent trail, I identified 3 detestable blood bags running towards the alley’s exit. I could see their arteries, their entire network of blood circulation was visible to me. A sort of craving donned on me that I’ve never had before; a succulent temptation of the flesh far sweeter than a woman’s allure.

I couldn’t let those blood bags escape my thirsting killer instinct. From where I was poised on the upper side of the wall, I leapt ahead and landed in front of Rodent and his goons before they could flee the alley.

“Oh shit!” Rodent fell backwards on his ass when he recognized my changed state standing boldly before him. His heart was pounding so quickly that it sounded like horses on a race track.

“What the hell! Is that thing, Smoke Pac?” These men were frightened by my appearance.

“He looks like a beast!” The big man started to piss himself while the little one swung at me with his wooden club.

“Get away or I’ll mess you up!”

I caught the club with my left hand and applied pressure until it was snapped in two. Right after, I impaled that bastard in the gut with the broken half of the club and kicked him further into the alley where I left him to bleed out.

“Holy shit! He killed Tyrone!” The big man was jittery and shaking in the knees as he glanced back at his deceased friend. Though he adopted a countenance teeming with trepidation, his fears weren’t as hectic as Rodent’s.

Rodent was still on his ass shivering like a naked rabbit in winter. He was struck so hard with nausea that he barfed out his undigested food, moreover, looked me in the eyes and shouted, “What the hell have you become, Smoke Pac?”

“Your worst nightmare.” I set my sight on Rodent’s remaining goon because I was going to leave him for last. I wanted to enjoy tearing that traitor limb from limb.

‘Thud!’

The first step I took toward the big man, made him involuntary took a step backwards. “Please, Smoke Pac. I have nothing to do with your beef against Rodent. You can do whatever you want with him just please leave me out of it. I’m sorry about what I did to you earlier. I didn’t mean to kick your ass.”

“Byso you traitor!” Rodent wasn’t pleased with the way his minion was ready to abandon him. He kept on wallowing in his own vomit like a fool as I moved in closer for the kill.

“Come on man, you don’t have to do this.” While begging me to spare his miserable life, Byso pulled out a pocket knife and aimed it at me with a trembling hand.

“You’re next in line.” Just as I was about to skin that punk alive, I felt a sharp metal stabbing me in the back and became alerted to the presence of an old chef behind me.

“Mr Han!” Rodent and Byso were both surprised when they identified the old chef standing behind me with a kitchen knife in his hand that had my blood dripping from its sharpness.

Rodent hollered, “Why the hell have you come here, Mr Han?”

“My stall is right down the street. I heard noises and came to see what was…”

‘Slash!’

Before this old chef could finish his sentence, his head decided to take a swift vacation from his body. I used my sharp rusted nails to assist with their severance. Blood began to spew from the decapitated apertures. I caught the head in my hand and scooped out the jugular veins for a midnight repast. Due to the effects of the Dying Man’s Bloodlust, I had no revulsion whatsoever.

“He’s sucking on Mr Han’s veins as if he’s eating noodles!” Byso had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from spewing out his stomach properties as Rodent did.

“I’m not staying here any longer!” Rodent got up out of his vomit and started running to the opposite end of the alley to get away from my increasing bloodlust.

“Rodent wait up!” Byso chased after him but Rodent was a lot faster. That fool knew how to run whenever he found himself in a sticky situation, which was why he had survived so long. However, neither of them could outrun me.

“There’s no escape!” I sucked the last essence of blood out of the severed head before I dashed further into the alley. My sprinting advance was similar to a cheetah chasing its prey.

“Oh shit! Oh shit!” Byso saw me coming up behind him and tried his hardest to increase his speed, but to no avail.

“You’re mine!” I grabbed Byso by the nape and tossed his big ass up high onto the side of the building. Not allowing him to fall, I jumped up there, grabbed his head and started scraping it alongside the wall as I chased after Rodent.

‘Thud! Thud! Thud!’

Byso’s head had been grated to the bones by the time I let go of him and leapt down at Rodent. “Come here you big sell-out!”

I tackled Rodent to the ground like how a lion trampled its game. We rolled around for a bit until I picked his skinny ass up and slammed him hard against the alley wall. ‘Thud!’ The sound of his back breaking was sweet music to my ears but then this piss ant went and spoiled it with his irritating voice.

“Oh, no! Please Smoke Pac! You don’t have to do this.” Rodent began using the only weapon that he had at that moment to extend his miserable life; that talkative mouth of his. “I didn’t betray you on purpose. Sharp Stepper… he and his men threatened to do bad things to me if I didn’t squeak like a rat. So you see, you can’t pin this all on me.”

“Sure I can!” I applied pressure to this bastard’s chest, squeezing it slowly for him to feel immense pain.

“Oh God no! It hurts!” Rodent spat out a mouthful of blood before continuing, “I’m sorry for what I did, truly I am. But at least you’re still alive so that should count for something, right? Right Smoke Pac?”

“It does count for only one thing…” I bit Rodent’s right ear off then shouted in the bleeding aperture, “And that’s getting my revenge on all the fuckers who robbed me of my wealth and I’m starting with you!”

“No! You can’t kill me! I have a little boy now. Do you want him to grow up in this hellish city without his father?”

“Stop pissing around Rodent. Since when do you have a son? Do you take me for a fool and even if you did have one, do you think that is going to stop for chewing your face off next?” I spit this traitor’s ear onto the ground then started moving my mouth closer to bite off his lying lips, however, an alert popped up in my vision before I could carry out my plan.