𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄: 𝐒𝟏 - Chapter 9: Blood Moon

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Dhammawitaya School Rooftop – 11:11 p.m.

The wind howled.

The rain had stopped, but the air felt heavier. Too still. Too quiet.

Sol stood at the edge of the rooftop, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the sky.

The moon had risen—huge and red like an open wound.

“Blood moon,” Eli had whispered earlier. “They say it’s an omen.”

An omen for what?

Sol didn’t ask.

He was too afraid of the answer.

Behind him, Rin lay curled in one of the spare blankets they’d found. His breathing shallow. His skin glistening with sweat.

His hand gripped Sol’s hoodie, even in his sleep.

He hadn’t let go all night.

---

Inside the stairwell – 11:29 p.m.

Jet couldn’t sleep.

Tae sat beside him, chewing at his thumbnail.

“You think he’ll turn?” Tae asked.

Jet didn’t answer.

“You’re worried about Sol.”

Jet nodded slowly. “He’ll hesitate. If Rin goes full zombie, he won’t be fast enough.”

“…You wouldn’t hesitate?”

Jet didn’t respond.

He didn’t have to.

---

Outside – 11:54 p.m.

Eli stood at the edge of the rooftop, his face tilted up toward the blood-red moon.

His eyes shimmered.

He could feel the virus moving inside him—like a whisper in his veins. Like a second heartbeat.

He wasn’t human anymore.

Not completely.

But he wasn’t a monster either.

He was something else.

Something new.

And tonight… it was getting stronger.

---

Rooftop Center – 12:03 a.m.

Rin screamed.

Sol was there in seconds, holding him down.

“Hey! Rin! It’s okay—it’s okay!”

But Rin was convulsing, his back arching, jaw clenched in pain. Veins darkened under his skin like spiderwebs.

The others ran over.

“Get back!” Sol shouted. “He’s not attacking—he’s fighting it!”

“Sol, move!” Jet yelled.

“No!”

But then—

Rin stilled.

His eyes flew open.

They were red.

Just for a second.

Then blinked back to normal.

“…Sol?” Rin gasped.

“I’m here,” Sol whispered, pulling him into his arms.

Tae stepped back. “That’s not normal. That’s not human.”

Eli moved between them. “Don’t. He’s crossing the line—but he’s still him.”

“You said that before,” Jet said, lifting the pipe again.

“And I was right before too,” Eli growled.

“Maybe not this time.”

---

12:20 a.m.

While they argued, Mew noticed something strange.

A sound.

Scraping.

She moved to the far edge of the rooftop wall.

Then her blood ran cold.

From the shadows of the next building over—a shape was climbing the wall.

Not fast.

But steady.

Its limbs bent wrong.

Its eyes glowing faint blue.

It wasn’t like the others.

It wasn’t mindless.

It was watching them.

Tracking them.

Hunting.

---

12:22 a.m.

“Tinn,” Eli whispered.

Everyone turned.

Sol stared. “That’s… that can’t be…”

Rin sat up weakly, wincing. “He survived?”

“No,” Eli said. “He changed. He’s not just a zombie anymore.”

Tae gripped Jet’s sleeve. “What the hell is he?”

Eli’s voice dropped. “He’s the next stage.”

---

12:30 a.m.

Tinn leapt across the rooftop gap.

The group scattered.

Jet swung the pipe—Tinn dodged and slammed him into the wall. Fast. Brutal.

Tae screamed, dragging Jet back.

Eli moved forward. “Don’t fight him. You can’t beat him like that.”

Sol helped Rin to his feet. “We have to run—now.”

“No,” Rin said, voice low. “We end this.”

“Rin, you can barely—”

“Let me finish it,” Rin growled. “I started it. I have to.”

Eli nodded. “You won’t survive a straight fight.”

“I’m not planning to fight fair.”

---

12:35 a.m.

Mew, Tae, and Jet distracted Tinn.

Sol stayed with Rin.

Rin stood at the far ledge, hands trembling, jaw set.

Tinn stalked toward him, ignoring the others now.

Eyes locked.

Rin raised a blade he’d hidden in his hoodie.

Tinn paused.

Then ran.

Sol screamed, “RIN, NOW!”

Rin dropped the blade—

—and tackled Tinn at full speed_

Over the edge.

---

12:36 a.m.

The world tilted.

Sol ran to the edge.

But_A hand reached up.Bloodied.Clutching the ledge.

Rin.

“Help me—” he gasped.

Sol grabbed his wrist.

Pulled.

The others rushed over.

Together, they dragged Rin back up, breathing hard, soaked in blood.

“Is he dead?” Tae asked.

They peered over the edge.

No body.

No sound.

Just the emptiness below.

---

12:49 a.m.

Rin lay back, breathing hard. Still shaking.

But alive.

Sol brushed the blood from his face.

“You came back,” Sol whispered.

“Couldn’t leave you behind,” Rin smiled weakly. “You’d cry too much.”

“Idiot.”

“You love me.”

Sol kissed his forehead. “Yeah. I do.”

ns216.73.216.241da2

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