Lycan Apocalypse: Book 1

-Prologue-

The Apocalypse.

Armageddon.

Dooms Day.

The End.

It came like a thief in the night.

No one saw it coming mainly because... it involved the Lycans.

Humans knew nothing of the existence of the Lycans but all it took was one to cross paths with the man-beasts and then the hunt began. They all thought he was crazy, spouting nonsense about a beast that stood upright, taller than any man, with brown thick fur and a head resembling a gnarly wolf-like creature.

Eventually, after many sightings, their hand was forced and the Lycans revealed themselves to the world. They, fortunately for us, lived by The Codex - an ancient Law they were all bound to, which included the protection of humans. Specifically, they were forbidden from ever turning a human without their knowledge or consent. The Lycans were adamant they meant no harm and were governed by a strict and strong hierarchy. They wanted the world to know they weren’t the uncivilised beasts we thought they were and that we could all live in harmony. They had lived among us for centuries without so much as a war and they believed we could continue to do so. Of course, the humans begged to differ and so the wars began.

Neighbour turned against neighbour, family turned against family and while they were all distracted by their prejudice, something more sinister was happening in the shadows.

People were going missing.

The humans were convinced the Lycans were stealing their loved ones which sparked the beginning of the fire mobs. The Lycans countered that the humans were taking their people too but nobody believed them. Both Lycans and humans were disappearing and both governments couldn't keep up.

No one knew what to do until one day, 'The Stolen' started turning up one by one. They walked into their homes the same as the day they had disappeared but with no recollection of what had happened to them. All seemed well and almost peaceful for both humans and Lycans until the Full Moon hit that month.

The Stolen convulsed as the moon rose to its highest point, rendered unconscious by seizures until all at once, they began to shift. They turned into rabid, mangy Lycans riddled with oozing sores, attacking anyone within their reach.

With a single bite, the infection transferred from person to person and they became mindless beasts. The Lycans called them the Vargul, because they were feral and could no longer return to their human forms. They were forever stuck in their Lycan skin, ruled by primal instincts and madness.

If a Lycan bit a human, the chances of them surviving and becoming one themselves were high. But for the Vargul, their bites were lethal, with a 50/50 chance of 'survival'. Many died in the process… but many more didn’t.

The virus spread throughout the lands, so unrelenting, so unforgiving...

The Great Cities fell one by one, succumbing to the infected hordes and soon so did the entire world.

The remaining humans and Lycans fled to create secure settlements in remote towns with no choice but to work together or die...

Chapter 1

(48 years later…)

Sipping my morning brew, I inhaled deeply and peered out the kitchen window.

What a beautiful sunrise….

Looking out, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation for my life, no matter how messed up it was.

I was born into this jacked-up, post-apocalyptic place with two amazing parents who taught me that if I could be anything in the world, I should be kind.

They taught me everything they could about where we came from, how to fight and survive.

In our settlement, Tectum, they were doctors and part of the Council. Tectum was one of the largest settlements in the south, big enough to rival the Lycan city, the Archivio. Some settlements had Lycan packs living among them which was common but here at Tectum, it was just humans. I don’t know much about what else my parents did as they liked to keep work life separate but I did know they were also scientists. Our medical and science facilities were second to none and many came from other settlements to glean as much knowledge as possible.

My parents were a rare breed - they had their fair share of grief and pain but still managed to show me love.

But all that was cut short.

I was only 14 when they fell sick and passed. Mom got sick first and then Dad caught whatever she had and followed shortly after.

I had no other family and didn't know who to turn to. My parents left me in the care of the Council who 'lovingly' stuck me into their Militia. They spent months beating me into submission, refining me to become their hammer beyond the walls. They beat out any warmth and kindness I once had until I was their most deadliest weapon. My parents had already taught me hand-to-hand combat and to wield a weapon but the Militia taught me how to kill. I became part of an elite team that ‘cleared’ the Vargul and other living threats that dared to come against the Council. On the odd days, we gathered whatever resources we could from the Old Cities and visited the smaller towns to keep the peace. Like the muscles across our body, we were hardened with every kill, whether they were Vargul or human.

Ten years of my life I gave to the Council and their every whim, leaving a dark stain across my soul. I chose to bury those days, even today.

Slight shuffling and a small yawn behind me drew me out of my thoughts.

“Mom”?

Looking back, a small figure wrapped in a blanket stood by the stairs.

“You’re up early”, I smiled.

“Mmm, I woke up and you weren’t there so I came down”, he shrugged sleepily.

“Alright, my love, why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring you some breakfast”.

He turned and made his way to the next room and I couldn’t help but smile. I would jokingly tell him that he was the love of my life but it was my honest truth.

My boy.

My Yann.

I busied myself mixing porridge in a pan over the stove with some fresh goat’s milk and let my mind wander back 8 years.

My life was a dark, bloody mess. I was lost in the haze of my own grief and I didn’t know how to get out of it.

That was until I fell pregnant while in the Militia.

After one too many drunken nights during my leave, I picked up a 'buddy' to keep me company.

His father didn’t want anything to do with us, which didn’t bother me since he wasn’t exactly ‘dad-material’. We call him the "Sperm-Donor" if we ever need to refer to him, which is hardly ever.

Staring at Yann's little pink face as I cradled him to my chest, I just knew that I had been given another chance. He made my world make sense in every way and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid. By God’s grace I had been given another chance. So I named him “Yann” meaning “God is Gracious”.

Yes, religions survived The Fall and my parents made sure to educate me on many of them. The beliefs of the fallen world helped shape our new one, so we gave them honor whenever it was due.

With a baby in my arms, I dismissed myself from the tight and unwilling grasp of the Militia. I joined the Medic Corp not long after as a way to atone for the years of darkness and bloodshed. This seemed natural to me as this was who my parents were through and through. Fast forward to today and I am now the head of the medical school, making sure the generations to come are taught everything we know.

I finished buttering his toast, popped a spare in my mouth, and headed into the dining area with his steaming bowl of porridge. I doused our bowls with honey, mixing it in before sitting down.

He had his nose in a tattered book and I could just see his dark chocolate hair over the top.

“Get it while it’s hot”, I smiled and slid his breakfast in front of him.

Without moving from his position, a small hand slowly reached for the toast, dunking it into his bowl before it reached his mouth. We ate silently, focusing on filling our bellies. As I looked on, I drained my mug as his glasses started to fog over and groaning, he pulled them off to clean them.

I couldn’t help but chuckle until I almost choked on the piece of bread when a distant chime rang through the air.

“Holy macaroni is that the time!? Yann, we gotta get going!”, I yelped, throwing my chair back.

His eyes shot to his Mickey Mouse wristwatch and he shoveled the last of his breakfast into his mouth.

With a few minutes to spare, we were out the door and on our way. Luckily his school was just down the path and my office was a little further on.

We hugged and kissed goodbye outside the shabby cabins that were his school and I hurriedly made my way to my building.

The Medic Corp was attached to an old school where the main operations for Tectum were housed. The Council ran the settlement from here which also happened to be the center. Tectum was actually quite large with thousands of homes in the inner rings and enough people to fill them.

“Sorry I’m late”, I said sheepishly to the figure outside my office as I jogged down the hall. She turned around, showing she was holding two steaming mugs of what I assumed was coffee. “Girl, are you serious? You’re 2 mins early?”, she said, giving me an eye roll.

I swung the door open and plopped into my seat behind my desk. Passing me a mug, Calliope sank into her chair and leaned back, closing her eyes.

“Long night, I presume?”

Opening an eye, she grunted in response and took a swing of her coffee. After a few more seconds, she straightened and cracked her neck from side to side. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

Calliope’s jet-black hair flowed down in box-braids and she twirled them up into a bundle on top of her head. Her beautiful dark skin was always flawless and made her light brown eyes pop. She was the type that didn’t need much to make her look gorgeous as she had killer curves and a face to match.

She handed me a bunch of files of the new recruits and sifted through notes that were left at my door. “How’s my little man?”, she smiled, without looking up.

“You know him, always has his nose stuck in a book and a snack in his hand,” I chuckled, sipping the dark brew as I opened the first file.

She frowned at one note and passed it over for me to read.

Andromache,

Come by my office today,

Something came through that I think you would want to see…

Bring me a snack while you’re at it?

~ Gus

I groaned out loud and gave Calli an annoyed look. “Why does he ALWAYS have to call me by that name? It’s just so...old and dusty.” She blinked then flung her beautiful head back and laughed. I looked at her exasperated and made my way to the door.

“I’ll sort the new recruits out for ya if you get me something good from the cafeteria”, she called out over her shoulder.

"It's a deal."

Calli was my right-hand man and one of my best friends. She was also my PA who helped me run things at the school. She and I joined the Militia together and left together when I fell pregnant to help me raise Yann. I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t budge and ever since then, she had been there for every birthday, every scraped knee, and every fever. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her… heck, I would slay a god-damned dragon for that gal.