Odor of Blood
The odor of blood lingered in the air. He pushed through the crowd, forcing his way toward the entrance. It couldn’t be her. He was only gone for a short while. Still, too many people stood in the way between himself and the entrance. Where was she? Under normal circumstances, she was always the first into the crowd. Not just because that she liked crowds, of course, but because for whatever reason, her power sources always appeared there.
He scanned the crowd. She was still no where to be seen. Was it so hard to find a woman dressed purely in white foreign clothing? He’s never had difficulty locating her before. He pulled out preserved leaf, and drew on the remnants of its energy. Luckily, he wasn’t limited to foods that he could consume.
Crumpling the dead leaf in his palm, he felt a surge of heat within him. Mentally focusing on an image of his teacher, he continued to scan the crowd. She had to be here. Somewhere. Why couldn’t his abilities be reliable for once?
He pulled out another leaf, careful to keep it out of sight, and drew on its energy again. Still nothing. Did she leave? It was unlikely. Whenever she was short, she’d always weaken. When he left, she undoubtedly bedridden. It’s unlikely that she could’ve left his detection range in that state.
Perhaps she hadn’t gone to the crowd. He must’ve been overthinking things. How could a bedridden person go fetch a power source, even if it could temporarily put her out of her misery? He let out a breath, and began climbing the stairs. But even if she were on the second floor, as she was when he had left, wouldn’t that still be within his range? Why couldn’t he feel anything?
Outside the room, he scanned his card, and stepped inside. It was dark, but that was to be expected. After all, it was unlikely that a bedridden individual would come turn on the lights on her own. He chuckled at his own stupidity, as he stepped into the room, and switched on the lights.
Then the smell stopped him. He was almost certain. The odor was stronger here. He ran toward the bedroom. She had to be okay. He turned the doorknob. Locked. What? She couldn’t have possibly locked it on her own. Not with the limited strength she had when he left.
He pulled out a set of leaves, drawing on them. Even with multiple leaves, he couldn’t detect her in the area. He let out a breath, frustrated. If only his leaves could boost his physical strength. Then stepping back, he ran into the wall, ramming his shoulder into it with all of his force. He needed to get in there.
But he couldn’t exactly call room service. Whatever the source of the smell was…he doubted that the hotel employee would remain silent about whatever he saw. He rammed into the door again. When this is over, he decided, he would go work out. Some physical strength would definitely do him some good. Running into the wall again, putting all his weight into it this time, the door finally burst open.
It was unmistakable now, the blood smell definitely came from the room. He turned on the lights. Red coated the bed, some of the carpet, and the walls. Even the lamp hanging from the ceiling wasn’t left alone. “Teacher?” He called, questioningly.
He’d never seen so much gore. Where could it have come from? Did someone? A breeze blew past him, and he realized that the window that he thought was there was no longer there. The glass, which gave an open view to the ground below was gone. It couldn’t be.
He walked up to the window, and stared out into the dark night. She couldn’t have could she? A cackle resounded behind him. He turned to catch a face that was just as familiar as unfamiliar, before he was shoved out into the night. He stared at the figure above him, as he fell through the air. Eyes wide in shock.
Note from the author:
Thanks for reading!
