L.A. Ghoul

Chapter 1: Manmade

"Dexter, why did you have to drag me with you on these spontaneous outings of yours?" A fit young man with dark brown hair and glasses asked his blonde haired companion.

"Because Levi, if I didn't you'd never leave that rat's nest you call an apartment."

Levi let out an audible sigh as he slouches over in his car seat. "Well, Dexter, my genius happens to work better in that so-called rat's nest."

Dexter laughed, "After all these years and you have yet to change Levi. Even after all of the great advice I've given you."

Without missing a beat, Levi replied in an irritated tone saying "You said I'd look good with frosted tips during our senior year."

In his playful yet sarcastic tone Dexter defended himself stating, "Hey, I've only failed you twice, and it takes three to strike out, so in my expert opinion I still have one bat left."

Upon hearing his nettlesome friend Levi shook his head side to side in subtle irritation. "Anyways we're here bucko," the blonde haired youth exclaimed as he landed a firm pat on the back to his brown haired friend, almost knocking his glasses off of his face as the car came to a halt.

Levi stepped out of Dexter's car, and looked up at the sign that covered the entrance of the coffee shop, reading "Yami Coffee" in lit up purple words. Levi looked at Dexter with disappointment written all over his face paired with a tone of voice matching his expression saying, "Really? Another coffee shop? Don't we have those at school?"

Dexter removed his sunglasses like the suave he was, replying, "Oh little Levi, I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Dexter lead Levi into the shop taking seats for both of them at a small table, while a sweet and friendly hello could be heard coming from behind the counter. This voice compelled Levi to look towards the counter to find that what had awaited him were the meeting of eyes of a beautiful girl with had black hair dropping just past her jaw with blue tips. Catching on, Dexter saw where his friend's eyes were captured and instantly knew what was going on, so logically he threw a calculated elbow at Levi's ribs and said in his normal playful voice "You see the reason why I brought you here?"

As Levi buried his head into his hands with a blush on his face and a pain in his side he replied, "Dexter I swear if you brought me here because you're thinking with your di..."

Dexter covered Levi's mouth interrupting him with an ever-growing smirk on his face saying, "Look at all these fine baristas, and tell me that they don't give you the slightest bit of excitement."

Levi scanned the coffee shop and almost as if struck by the heaviest of epiphanies he had realized that Dexter was right. All of the female workers were very high up on the attractiveness scale, so upon falling to the inarguable logic that his genius companion Dexter had presented, he reluctantly gave in saying, "Fine, you got me, can we order? Some of us have more important things to do than to oogle at baristas."

Dexter stood up placing one hand over his heart and another on Levi's cheek as if about to recite a shakespearean monologue exclaiming "Oh my dear Levi, it doth warm my heart to hear that thou hast listened to reason, yes we may order."

Dexter placed his sunglasses back onto face in a cool, exaggerated manner with a grin that oozed confidence whilst leaning over to Levi impishly whispering, "I'm getting that barista girl that you were checking outs number."

Levi choked on a laugh from his overconfident friend. Upon gathering himself Levi smugly retorted, "If you can even manage to just get her name I'll buy you your drink."

Dexter practically jumped out of his chair as his challenge has been laid bare and the reward of the ages has been waged exclaiming, "Deal! Excuse me miss we are ready to order!"

The beautiful black haired girl wore her smile just the same as when the boys had arrived and began to walk towards their table. As she arrived she pulled out a pen from her pocket and the notebook she carried over with her, asking in her sweet tone "What will it be guys?"

Levi responded first with a blush starting to reform over his face, but trying to keep his cool he said plainly "I will just have a pour over."

The barista mouthed the order as she wrote it down, then looked over towards Dexter and asked "And for you, sir?" As if a scene in a play Dexter pulled his glasses off of his face and slyly said "I'll have an iced coffee and your name sweet cheeks."

The girl once again mouthed the order as she wrote it down, but stopped upon realizing the fact that Dexter had asked her for her name. Not only that, but through the means of saying "sweet cheeks." As if to confirm what she had already known she asked, "You want to know my name?" in a false front of confusion.

Leaning in and crossing one arm across his chest and the other aiming for the girl's hand he said in a tone of voice which he could only imagine to be comparable to James Bond himself, "Why yes beautiful, your name."

Levi, knowing where this was going hopped in the middle of this "exchange" to hopefully prevent someone from spitting in the coffee he may have to pay for, saying with a slight sigh as his blush began to grow, "Listen if you don't want to answer this clown then that's fine."

The barista let out a small chuckle. "My name is Kristi, and you two are?"

Dexter wore a victorious grin on his face and said, "I'm Dexter and that defeated sap over there that owes me a drink is Levi."

Levi was shattered in disbelief as Kristi let out a small laugh, "I'll have your drinks out in a second guys."

As soon as she was out of sight an ego-fed Dexter stood with his arms crossed and chest puffed out, stating "She can't resist me."

Upon realizing an unseen defeat a crushed Levi could only muster up a simple, "If you say so Dexter, if you say so."

The lab was cold, dark and the only sounds to be heard were the tattering of computer keys frantically being typed only to be interrupted by agonizing moans coming from those whom life had thrown aside. Alone and afraid the kidnapped scientist on the edge of exhaustion worked to please his ruthless masters in exchange for his freedom, his life that he knew deep down he very well may never have back. "Wrong again... DAMN IT ALL!," the broken scientist screamed as he threw the failure of an experimental vial against a wall.

As the glass shattered, its red fluids had begun to slither down the wall and slowly trickled onto the floor. With his exhaustion pushing him to the brink of death the human scientist fell to his knees in defeat, only to hear the once locked door in the back of the room open. A lanky man adorned with red robes decorated with the insignia of a bird, his left fist clenching his side and his right gripping his head almost as if to keep it together made his way to the scientist. With eyes as red as blood and his voice shaking as if he's about to explode the lanky man said to the scientist "You know, Mr. Smart Human you should try to pretend like you're doing good or else we'll have to eat early."

"You know that we like it when things happen good," The lanky man continued as he gripped his once clenched fist around his own neck to scratch it violently.

"I'm sorry Saul, please forgive me. I'll make more progress from here on out I promise!" the now terrified scientist scrambled to say.

Saul, with his red robes and now open hands jumped over the lab table at an incomprehensible speed placed his hand on the scientist's throat in one motion and screamed in a deep growl "Don't call us that, we are Hyde!"

The scientist was nearly paralyzed in fear upon feeling the sense of powerlessness that had overcome him with the amount of force that he had just felt firsthand. In his despair this simple man, the simple human that he was only managed to say one thing, "Sorry Hyde, please forgive me, it will never happen again."

Hyde seemingly collected himself and let the scientist go as he began to lick his hand that was placed upon the scientist's throat. "The boss wants us to report your work, and decide whether or not you're still of use to us," Hyde said as a twisted grin grew on his face whilst continuing to lick his fingers.

The scientist scurried to gather papers from one of the machines that was connected to the centrifuge and handed them to Hyde saying, "Here is the last round of tests."

Hyde snatched the paper out of his hands and scanned over it a few times before tossing them back at him in annoyance. "We don't understand these things Mr. Smart Human, tell us what they mean," Hyde demanded.

Picking the papers off of the cold damp floor the scientist began to give a summary of what the papers say "Well, in short, the artificial RC cells continue to consume the other cells after the injection until death of the host."

Hyde let out an evil laugh as he reached out to touch the captive man. Running his finger across the scientists face Hyde chuckled "The boss won't like that Mr. Smart Human, not at all, we may have to eat early."

With as much confidence and fear he had left in his life the scientist fired a shot of reason that will hopefully resonate with this inhuman monster that stood before him saying, "Well if you kill me who will continue what I've done? There aren't many hematologists that specialize in RC cells."

The ghoul's laughter stopped with these words only to be replaced by pure anger as veins as red as his eyes began to grow outwards from his sclera. The raging Hyde then screamed his deep growl again at the scientist saying, "Then get it working or you'll be food!"

Flipping like a switch as he had just before, Hyde returned to laughing manically as he exited the lab. Now, yet again, as a lamb before lions, as a human before ghouls, the scientist was alone in the cold dark, only to be accompanied by the light of a computer screen, his work and the anguished cries of those whom were slowly being devoured from the inside out. "I wished he would call me Atto instead of Mr. Smart Human. I'd like to hear someone say my name just one more time before I go," the scientist Atto quietly said to the void around him as he dropped in his single computer chair.

Dexter's car had come to a stop upon reaching the curb of Alondra Hospital with the sight of the setting sun in the distance giving off a radiant orange glow. Letting out a sigh, Levi had unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door and paused upon seeing the sun's radiant reflection glaring off of Alondra's glass windows as he began to get out of the car. "Ow… turns out the sun hurts to look at."

"Well Levi… It's like it's bad for you to look at or something. I hear you could go blind from it. I'm not too sure though," Dexter sarcastically retorted at his oblivious friend.

"I may just be inclined to keep looking at it, just so I don't have to keep seeing that smug face of yours blondie," Levi retorted.

"Look at that! Ole Levi doth bring a sense of humor for once! Progress has been made! See what happens when I'm around?"

Hearing Dexter's cringeworthy olde English mockery again, Levi wraps his face with his free hand that is not on the door as a small smile begins to form and says, "Ole Levi doth have to go to his internship or else he shalt be in some trouble."

Dexter began to chuckle as Levi shut his door and began to wave goodbye at him saying, "Don't work too hard buddy, Lord know's you may just wind up killing yourself from it one day."

The car then began to pull away in the direction towards the sunset and out of the lot. Levi waving goodbye back at Dexter muttered to himself, "Dexter you idiot, that doesn't actually happen."

The contents of the vial that had only earlier been scattered all over the wall and floor had now dried up, and rested as all other things dead or dying had in the lab. It's once vibrant red color had turned into a crusted purple smudge over the grey walls and cold floor as the same frantic sound of computer keys tapping away filled the room. At once, the tapping of the keys had stopped as a green glow had emanated from the computer screen illuminating the room. "Yes… All of my work, all of my suffering, is now about to come to a close. I can finally leave this vile place now that I have succeeded in this prototype. No. How foolish of me, it isn't yet done. There is one last matter to attend to," Atto had muttered to himself as he dropped to his knees with the bright green words "synchronization successful" glowing from his computer screen.

With fierce determination gleaming within the doctor's worn-down eyes he stood and walked over to the machines that were in front of him. Several vials were lined up on a rack in front of the machines that had all been filled with a dark red fluid, except for one vial at the end, which was filled with the same vibrant crimson color as the failure that had now scattered the wall and floor. The doctor grabbed this vial cautiously and stared at it for a quick moment before filling it into a fresh syringe capsule, labeling it "Cain-001." "Now, everything can change."

Atto stuffed the syringe into his pants pocket and ran over to his prep table on the opposite side of the room to grab several medical tools that also had the same crimson glow on them in the form of vein-like structures. "They're not much but they'll have to do," Atto thought to himself as he placed two scalpels with these red veins inside of his lab coat's pockets.

He then removed everything from the table that he was using, tipped it over and brought it over just next to the door that had acted as his shackles binding him to his laboratory prison. Preceding that, he had hurried over to his computer that was linked to the machines and began to run everything at maximum power. While the machines were charging up to run Atto went back over to the rack which held the several other failed test vials, grabbed them and went behind the machines where the power was feeding them. "So, I break the vials against the backs of the machines, take cover as the contents drip down towards the power sockets, conduct the electricity and start a fire. That then gets the guards attention to rush in. With the smoke dulling their senses I sneak out the door they entered in and make a break for it in the ensuing chaos. This is stupid and suicidal, but I have no other choice at the moment. This better work."

Atto proceeds with his plan and takes cover behind the table he set up next to the door. Sparks begin to be heard behind the machines, following a flame that begins to erupt within the machines as the warehouse's power goes out. Within a couple of minutes footsteps can be heard rushing from behind the door as it bursts open by two men wearing the same red robes as Hyde had, but were noticeably different from him in stature. The two robed men ran into the room yelling, "What the hell did you do doctor!" and proceeded to go farther into the room searching for Atto in the blinding cloud of smoke.

They fell for it. Atto stealthily maneuvered over the table and out the door into a pitch-black hallway that began to be filled with smoke. With adrenaline pumping through his body Atto ran faster than he had ever gone in his life, until he found a door at the end of the hallway. He opened it. The smell of L.A.'s night air rushed into his lungs, a smell that he thought he may never have smelled again in his life, a smell that signified his long sought freedom. Although, instantly out of the corner of his eye another red robed man was rushing toward him with a speed that he very much knew he couldn't outrun. He was tackled to the floor by this man being told, "Like hell we'd let you escape you huma-"

The man was silenced by a glowing red scalpel that had been plunged straight into his jugular by a winded Atto. With adrenaline pumping through his veins he got up and continued to run, but had fallen on his face and noticed that his leg was broken. With the fall giving it a little bit of extra force he heard a crack come from his ribs. "Shit, damn those ghouls."

With all of the strength his adrenaline fuelled, exhausted body could muster, Atto got up and ran with every fiber of his being.

Levi ran back and forth inside the hospital's pharmacy for what felt like days, constantly filing and sending out an endless line of prescriptions. After sending out his last prescription he haphazardly looked at his watch and what he mistook as the light of heaven that was the light reflecting off of his watch, noticed that it was at last his long sought break time. He slowly made his way through the plain white halls of the hospital, down to the cafeteria, filled up a cup of coffee, warmed up his now dinner and headed over to a table. He then sat down, placed his head on the table and let out a long groaning sigh. "They must have you working like a dog in that pharmacy don't they?" said the voice of a female nurse.

Levi looked up to see that it was Shannon, whom used to be in the same program as he at school, except unlike him she had just graduated. Her normally brown hair that draped down to her shoulders was currently tied back into a ponytail. Her bright blue eyes that frequently seemed to cut down into Levi's tired soul had now met his as he said "Yeah you could say that." While he took a sip of his coffee, and then once again placed his head on his folded arms.

Shannon chuckled, saying "Don't worry Levi it does get easier, you will eventually get out of there and start seeing actual patients." As she pulled out the chair across from Levi, and touched his arm for reassurance with her other hand.

Levi sat there seemingly blowing off the comment, but that perhaps could have just been him being tired. "You're going to be a great doctor someday Levi, you just need to get through the bullshit first," Shannon said with a smile that also seemingly went unnoticed by Levi.

He finally looked back up at her with his attention moving from his hands and coffee and said "I hope you're right, because this is killing me."

The two continue to talk for a few more minutes until Shannon's pager went off. "Damn thing," She said looking down at the pager.

"I swear this thing is my life," which was followed by a small flirtatious laugh that seemed to go clear over Levi's head..

Shannon got up off the table and placed her hand on Levi's back while whispering into his ear, "I really do think you're going to great things soon Levi."

She kissed his check and walked out of the cafeteria. In his grogginess, Levi shot up a few seconds later after it hit him as to what Shannon just did as a small blush began to form on his cheeks. His moment was short lived when a paper airplane hit his head. He opened it to find a note from Shannon. It read: Can you tell Dexter to stop texting my friend Sam? She doesn't have the heart to hurt the dork. Thanks 3 Shannon. Levi chuckled and looked at his watch to see the time. "Shit! I'm going to be late!". He placed the note from Shannon in his lab coat and ran as fast he could back to the pharmacy.

The next few hours seemed to fly by as he went on once again filling out orders for the next day. Finally, 10 pm struck and he was free to leave this dungeon of a pharmacy that bound his young adult life day after day. Upon gathering his things, Levi left out the back door of the hospital and sat on its steps to let the cold sweet air of freedom cool him down as he rejoiced in the bliss of silence that he had not had all day. Fifteen minutes have passed and Levi decided to begin on his way back home. To his inconvenience Levi's silence had been broken as he heard rumbling coming from a nearby alley. Thinking nothing of it Levi continued on until he saw that a bleeding man in a dirtied lab coat was the one whom had caused the rumbling.

As a man that was practicing in the field of medicine, Levi had rushed over to the bleeding, limping man in hopes to help in any way he could. When he reached the man he had taken a knee next to him frantically saying as he pulled out a flashlight "Sir, I need you to open your eye."

The man smacked the flashlight out of Levi's hands and turned his head, as if it was causing him pain. "The ghouls, are they still after me?" the man said with the little bit of breath that he could muster..

"Ghouls!?," Levi shuddered as he quickly turned his head towards the empty, blackened alley.

No, those can't be around, the CCG have ran them away from this part of town, there's no way. Levi had thought to himself to calm himself down. "Sir, we need to get you to the hospital, it's not far from here."

The man then seemed to calm down as a small smile began to build on his face. Struggling to continue talking the man said "So, that seems like a no then. Listen kid, I don't have long, so I'll make this shor-"

Levi had cut him off and urgently saying, "If I don't get you to the hospital now you're going to die. I'm calling 911 to come and get you now!"

The man then reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a syringe. He then quickly injected it into the leg of Levi and filled him with its contents. "Ow! What the hell did you just do?!," Levi yelled as he stumbled back from the man, pulling the syringe out of his leg, and tossing it to the ground where broke in half. The man now lying on the ground, as he had used up all of the energy he had left said to Levi in a grumbled wheezing voice, "Kid, my name is Atto, I'm a hematologist that specialized in RC cells and used to work for the CCG until I was kidnapped by a group of ghouls called Aogiri Tree. They had me run an experiment, combining two strains of RC cells to be compatible with the human body. I had completed this experiment, but could not allow the likes of Aogiri to get a hold of it, so I escaped. Not unscathed as you can see. What I injected into you was the product of this experiment, named Cain-001, and with this I bestow up on you the ability to break this twisted birdcage of a world we live in."

Levi, trying to comprehend everything that is happening before him could do nothing but stumble back farther as tears begin to form in his eyes and says, "S-so you're turning me into a ghoul?... WHAT THE HELL MAN?! I happen to enjoy living as a human! Why didn't you escape before you completed the experiment if you didn't want those Aogiri ghouls to get a hold of it?! Obviously you had the ability to! And what's with this breaking the twisted birdcage? What the hell do I even look like to you?! A main character of some ridiculous story?! I'm just some boring introverted college student trying to make it by! And now this happens… Aha… You're full of it aren't you?!"

Atto began to crack a small joyful smile as his eyes were fixed on Levi's. "I'm truly sorry kid. You seem like a good guy, and I very much do value that in a world like this. You're going to have to go through hell and back in the time to come. It won't be easy and it won't be over quickly, but you will do great things. I'm sure of it. Not that you would want to know, but there is no time left for me. I'll be dead within minutes due to internal bleeding, or the ghouls that are after me will track me down. So now you must go, before they get here," Atto struggled to say, as he knew what future would befall upon the innocent young man that sat there before him.

"You've got to be kidding me….." Levi said in denial as he began to get up with the last bit of tears falling off of his face.

"What is your name kid?"

"...Levi…...Levi Adams."

"Levi huh? That's a nice name, never forget it." Atto said as he drew his last breath and closed his eyes with a warm and happy look planted on his bloodied dying face.

"Shit….. This really sucks." Levi said as he picked up parts of the now broken syringe that was previously stabbed into him and ran off.

Two men with red glowing eyes walked up the dark messy alley that Atto was lying in. One wearing Aogiri's red robe and the other, well dressed in black slacks and a black button up. With a small bit of his hair that parted from the top of his head out of place he had flipped it back off to the side, to return it to draping down by his shaven sides. "Awwww crap man…. Mr. Fong what we do with Mr. Smart Human? He's dead!," Said Hyde standing over the dead Atto. The ghoul in the aogiri robes said to the darkly dressed Mr. Fong, walked towards the schizophrenic ghoul whose mouth was now watering over the sight of some fresh meat.

"Well shit….. If you would have fed it more, then perhaps it wouldn't have been as exhausted and died. This means your ass dipshit Hyde….. Tatara is going to be pissed," Mr. Fong says in annoyance as he takes a hit from his pen-like object and blows out a red vapour. He kicked the body once more for good measure.

Fong turned away from the now dead Atto and took another hit from his pen-like object. "Well, looks like we're back to square one." Said Fong to no one in particular.

Two men with red glowing eyes walked up the dark messy alley that Atto was lying in. One wearing Aogiri's red robe and the other was well dressed in black slacks and a black button up. With a small bit of his hair that parted from the top of his head out of place he had flipped it back off to the side, to return it to draping down by his shaven sides. "Awwww crap man…. Mr. Fong what we do with Mr. Smart Human? He's dead!," Said Hyde standing over the dead Atto.

Mr. Fong walked towards the schizophrenic ghoul whose mouth was now watering over the sight of some fresh meat while looking at the corpse that lies before them. "Well shit….. If you would have fed it more, then perhaps it wouldn't have been as exhausted and died. This means your ass dipshit Hyde….. Tatara is going to be pissed," Mr. Fong says in annoyance as he takes a hit from his pen-like object and blows out a red vapour.

Fong kicked the body once more for good measure and turned away from the now dead Atto to take another hit from his pen-like object. "Well, looks like we're back to square one." Fong mumbled to himself.

He continued to walk down the alleyway a few feet away from Atto. He paused for a moment as a faint smell of blood caressed his nose. He recognized the smell of the blood instantly. Following his nose he found the broken shards of the syringe. He picked up a larger piece and crushed it between his fingers. "That old bastard." Fong angrily said as he clenched his fist.

"Hyde!" Yelled Fong who turned back to around to face him.

"Yes, ?" said a surprised Hyde whom was seemingly intoxicated by the smell of a fresh corpse.

"Go ahead and eat that old man" Said Fong as an evil grin grew on his face.

"He's not of any use to us dead, and I'd rather not deal with that piss poor excuse of the CCG holding strings to us. As far as they know it'll just be another homeless being fed on by a ghoul," Fong said before taking another hit from his pen.

Hyde was ecstatic upon hearing the news that he had been given. "Thank you Mr. Fong! We're going to enjoy this!," He said once again switching personalities like the flip of a switch.

"Well, Mr. Atto I will admit, you've put a nice wrinkle into our plans, but we will reach our goal." Fong arrogantly said into the direction of Hyde.

"Besides…..I like doing things the hard way anyways."