by K. H. Kate
"Those pills." I gulped, knowing where I'd find them and true to my suspicion, I found them under the small crack. "It was you who gave me the idea of forgetting, not Byron. Isn't it? Byron is sly but he isn't stupid. I’m trapped inside my mind, forced to live the same day all over again, aren’t I?"
His smile proved at much.
"The first time I found myself free of that cage, my spirit was looking for my body but it wanted you more. Wanted to see you crumble in pain. Completely dissociate you from reality. This is the only way it feels alive."
Technically this wasn't the only way but he didn't have to know that. Just like he didn't know I started hiding something else here.
A hunting knife I stole from Andy, the cook.
"If I'm living the same day every day then why can't you?" I asked, quietly flinging the knife his way. To my horror, it went through his body, dropping on the floor with a clink.
He looked down, his smile brightening. "Ok, I didn't expect that."
"Fuck." I cursed, dropping on the floor to take it before he could. So far, he's tortured me mentally but I wasn't about to try my luck.
"Just take the pills, Lana. You'll wake up with no memories of me, no pain. Nothing."
It was tempting, really. But how long was I going to pretend that Zach didn't want me insane? That I was just ignoring the pain until it hit me like this?
Looking at the knife in my hands, I hesitated. My Zach knew me better than I did but this one? He didn't even comprehend what I was capable of doing. Smiling at him one last time, I raised the knife...
And, pierced it in my neck. Right where my mysterious mark was supposed to be.
Maybe because I was testing a theory or maybe I wanted to die.
It didn't matter cause he was quick to catch me before I fell on the tub, screaming at my face with horror in his eyes. "Lana! Fuck, why would you do that? Why would you ever do that!"
Even in pain, I couldn't stop laughing.
THREE YEARS AGO
"Call 911! Now!"
I couldn't pinpoint the frantic voice but she was familiar. Whoever she was, she sounded scared. Like there was someone important to save but she was failing.
"I can't!" This voice was rather odd. Filled with more fear than mocking. "Master will kill me! Why did you let her do that?"
"Didn’t her doctor ever tell you that she attacked me when I was only helping her with that stupid infection? After that breakdown, she hasn't responded for a year, Byron. She literately just stares ahead. What do you want me to think?" Who was she talking about?
"Fuck, Sandy. Move! Move, let me see." Whoever it was, I felt him place my head into a more comfortable place. A pillow?
"Can't you give her some of your blood?" The woman pointed out with a shout. "Maybe that'll heal her."
He blanched at the idea. "You think I didn't? Her body is rejecting the blood. Not a few seconds ago, she was convulsing like I gave her some kind of poison. I have never seen anyone react to my blood like that. I had to extract it right back. It won't heal her."
"Dammit, Byron! Should we call your Mr. Val-"
Whoever this Mr. Val was, had the man snap in a second. I could even hear something crash near. "No, no! Let's just wait for a few hours and see what happens."
"Are you insane! What if she's dead by then?"
My heart raced to hear the word. Dead, like there's a finality in it she didn't like.
"Why don't you do something then? Use your magic."
"I can't! The Volkios would know if I did. I have to rely on blood magic, you idiot. And she's already losing too much blood, I can't help her."
"Then what? Should we go to them?"
If anything, the woman sounded even more offended. "Those sisters? Not a chance in hell. They'll see it to themselves that she dies."
"Fuck! Why is her body fighting so much?"
"Byron, what if she..."
"No, no. It's too soon. What I can do is ask for Hannah..." Everything came to a stop and I was drifting into sleep again.
***
"Welcome back."
My body lurched awake and it took me a lot to not just scream. Everywhere I touched it ached, and I hardly felt anything but pain. Fuck, it even hurt to breathe. Where the hell was I?
"Quite a scare you gave us." The voice continued. He sounded bored but I could detect the uneasiness in them from miles. "We thought you wouldn't be awake for another year."
Another year?
I finally blinked to erase the blurriness and I was looking right at Byron. Something told me even Sandy was here but she was nowhere to be found right now. Sucking in the air, I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. By the way, even the ceiling looked squeaky clean, this wasn't just another cell.
Maybe it's a staff room? Byron's?
Huh.
"Say something." He demanded, his tone louder than before.
"You say something." I countered, coughing. "You are the one currently standing between the two of us."
His gaze was unnerving but I couldn't look away. There was something in them...
"How much do you remember?" He asked, at last, breaking his stare.
How much did I remember? Everything was kinda hazy and I was grateful to just breathe but something told me people like Byron didn't expect answers like that. So, I took a deep breath and let loose. "Like you just threw me out of the roof like you promised. Did you?"
His face revealed nothing but there was a twitch. Like he was dying to say something. True to my thoughts, not a second later he laughed, gesturing around us. "You finally did it. Tried to kill yourself for the devil knows what stupid reason-"
Wait, what?
"You are lying." Even in this critical situation, he was lying. Of course, it's classic Byron.
"Lying?" He sounded like he's on a dangerous edge. Like one word was enough to make him snap. "You think I'm lying? My blood couldn't heal you, dammit. Your body rejected it, do you have any idea what that means?"
Groaning, I looked away. He wasn't making much sense right now or was it another one of his games? Fuck, if I knew.
"Answer me!"
"That you have filthy blood?" I spat, tired of talking. My throat was so calling for water like the way it itched. "Why would your blood even heal me in the first place?"
"Please tell me you're joking?" He deadpanned.
The thing was I knew why but I was denying it to the end of my life. Cause admitting it would mean I was truly in a nutcase house with nutcase people. Also, the fact that Byron willingly wanted to give me his blood...yeah, there was definitely something wrong.
"Where's the doctor, Byron? Actually, why am I still here and not in a hospital if I really tried to kill myself as you just said."
He should be mocking me next but to my shock, he went rigid. "I was your doctor. We called for help but looks like you didn't need that help after all. How are you feeling? Any pain? Thirst for something specific?"
I couldn't stop the irony. "Does your blood counts?"
"You think this is funny. You little..." He trailed off, biting his lips to the point it started bleeding. He usually looked mysterious, eyes all too big with a pointed nose and blood-red lips but right now he truly looked like a predator. A rabid one in fact. "Have you any idea what I had to do to make sure you're even breathing? Every patient here is under my supervision, 5132. Because of you, we already lost one. The Volkios could walk right here right now to punish me and I would have no choice but to take it because I failed you. Some of us have to fight to keep living where you're dying to give it away for nothing-"
"Enough!" I shifted, fully intended to howl myself over him to strangle him when he's the one who grabbed me by my neck before I could even blink. Eyes wide, I could only watch as he tried to find whatever the fuck in my eyes when his own glowed red in return.
No...I really really hated this Byron.
"Let. Me. Go." I choked out, too many thoughts attacking me at once. I was just talking to S
andy when something happened. Something big that I couldn't quite remember. But I had better things to worry about. Like getting out of this bastard's hold.
"You have teeth now, 5132." He remarked. "Use it."
I didn't know about my teeth but my hands were free at least. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to raise one to grab him, and surprisingly, I gripped his wrist, twisting it to free my neck. Holy hell. It couldn't be. We both watched in shock as black veins ran down my arms until they disappeared completely like they weren't even there in the first place.
"What did you do to me?"
He should be furious at the accusation but if anything, he recoiled, his face frozen in a cold hard edge. "Sandy will take care of it. Tell you what's happening. I think it's best if we keep you in the cell downstairs. The less people you see, the better."
Before I could stop him, he was no longer there.
Only me and the impending silence.
Shit, Lana. What have you done now? Bored out of my mind, I tried to crawl my way out of the bed. To my surprise, it didn't take me much to stand on my feet and hover over things. If this really was Byron's room, he had a shitty taste.
Just to mess with him, I took a few things that looked important, hid a few files that looked one hundred percent illegal, and in the end, the smell of decaying flesh along with the humming of lullaby led me out of the room to the hall. Just because I never visited this side of the sanatorium, I had to take a few detours until I found the source of the smell.
A human.
I didn't know how or why that happened. One minute I was standing in a hall and the next, I was near the human, clutching her windpipe to keep her from escaping. From anything that could have happened, my mouth opened on its own, sparks like shadows coming out of it. Shit, what's happening?
"Stand still and it will all be over soon." The voice was mine but I couldn't recognize her. Not even when those veins of mine started moving like coils, reaching for the human to part her lips. Whatever I expected, I didn't expect her to scream as something split her open to get outside only to find its way to my open mouth.
And out of everything...I moaned.
In pleasure. To finally able to quest my thirst.
"More. Give me more." I demanded, angry at the fact that now the human was dead on her feet. Dammit, why all of them have to be so fragile? Have no fear, there was plenty of them here. With that reassurance, I turned around only to find a gaping Sandy with Byron behind her.
"Told you," Byron murmured with a sigh.
"You." I pointed at Byron. "Give me more of that. I don't care from where. I'm so fucking hungry that I can even eat you. And you, Sandy. Why don't you start to enlighten me on the things that you've been hiding from me? I'm suddenly interested in the topic of bloodlines."
I could swear they both gulped in fear. And, I should have gloat on that. But it felt like someone threw cold water on me as I stared and just stared. From where I was, I had a clear view of the dining room. Now there's hardly a few who had eating outside of the room privilege so only two or three could be usually seen there talking. But it's not them who got my attention.
It was the newcomer, a boy with sun-kissed hair and ocean blue eyes.
And, right at that moment, I remembered everything.
PRESENT
"Detective, glad to hear from you." Agent Alan said, welcoming both Aaron and me into his office. He was looking at the two of us smiling but I could tell that it was fake. Not surprising considering even Mr. Valentine was here with his security details.
I managed to not roll my eyes.
"Likewise." I nodded, not wanting to make a scene right now. Besides, Valentine had a keen eye on me for the most part. I didn't want to give him something to goad on but luck had it that he smiled, acknowledging my stare.
"Haven't seen you in a long while. Why don't you introduce us to your friend, young man?"
Young man?
Valentine looked only to be in his late twenties. Hell, even I looked older than him but of course, I didn't point that out. Instead, I forced myself to sound polite. "I apologize. This is my friend and partner, Aaron Jeller."
Aaron wasn't as subtle as me. He dropped a huge file on the table, shrugging. "Heard a lot of things about you, Mr. Valentine. Have to say, you have quite a reputation."
Valentine flashed him a smile. "Do I? Do tell, do tell."
If I didn't stop Aaron now, chances were he'd accuse Valentine outright of murder or trafficking people. So, snatching the file, I diverted the conversation toward Chief. "Gentlemen, let's talk about what's important right now. Like the case, Chief, what did you want to talk about? What about the body you found?"
Before Chief could open his mouth, Valentine quipped up. "I was hoping Vermon could enlighten us about that. Out of all the cases, he took this one. There's must be something interesting about it?"
I smiled, despite wanting to jump over the table to whack him in the face. As if he could read my mind, his smile brightened.
Fine, two could play the game.
"With all due respect Mr. Valentine, you are still one of the main suspects. Chief might spare you the details but I haven't ruled you out as an innocent yet. Also, you have made many enemies throughout the years, what to say that one of them just didn't stop caring about your reputation and finally shut that asylum down?"
"Oh? But I have an ally that can assure you Vermon that it's not me you're after. Why don't you ask Chief? We had dinner that night in a very public setting with others. You can ask anyone." Valentine insisted, giving me a lopsided smirk. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Aaron fidgeting in irritation. This man was out to get us, alright.
"Look, Mr. Val-"
Chief leaned forward with a harsh chuckle. "Gentlemen, if you'd step aside from your personals problems for the time around then it would do good for all of us. Detective, did you find anything?"
"Someone broke into Aaron's house last night and he said he saw the same warnings in his house that were in the sanatorium. We'd be looking for that after we finish this meeting." I took a deep breath, feeling the pressure of finding her dead coming back again. "I have sent some of my smaller sources to scout the area around the sanatorium. We are hoping something comes up from that."
I paused, waiting for Aaron to speak up warily. Say what may, he didn't bring up my obsession with the diary or the fact that I hid any evidence. Instead, he opened the file near him with a somber look. "We talked to a few people there. Found a good source out of it. They had good insight on what went through the night before but I'm not comfortable enough to say their name or what they said in front of him. Can I send the report later if that's ok?"
Chief nodded sharply before turning to look at Valentine. "And your people, Mr. Valentine?"
"They found the body that matched the DNA of the blood found on those walls. I understand the public is scared right now. They are paranoid and most probably not even trusting you to catch the one responsible for killing their loved ones. I thought a lot about it and decided that since the killer is already dead, you can close the case. Give some hope to the people.”
“Really? How can you be so sure? There were two different DNA there, written by two different people.” He benefitted the most from this case. So, why was he giving up now? I took a shot in the dark. “Any chance it was Byron?”
His eyes twitched.
Bull’s eye.
“Byron is my most trusted assistant. I’ve known him since he was just a troubled teen. I’d be happier if you’d rather do your job better instead of insulting him." I had to grip the table to not make a jab about how he was the last person to chide someone on how to do their job. He left my sister at the altar, ruined her life and yet he had the nerve to show his face here. But as Chief stared at Valentine with a stone face, it became clear just how he thought about his words.
"We haven't got the post-mortem report yet," Chief said, nodding at others. "And until we do, you can't write it down as case closed beca
use right about now there might be a killer running around in the open."
Valentine quickly masked his face into an impatient one. "Fine, but you all better work faster to catch this killer you believe is still breathing. Now if you'll excuse me...I have places I need to be."
And with that, he left the room until the only people who remained were the people who actually contributed something in the case. I didn't even know I was holding my breath until Chief spoke up.
"Sorry for the rudeness. I don't particularly like Mr. Valentine either but for some reason, he wanted to see you. I thought a meeting in front of everyone would be a good idea rather than whatever he had in mind."
"Thank you." If Valentine had his way...no, I couldn't think about that right now. "I wanted to ask some questions about that body you found. Are you certain that it was a girl-"
"You never heard it from my mouth." Chief managed to give me a brief smile before his cold look returned. "But the age and the body type looks like it was a middle aged John Doe. So, I can say with a certain confidence that it wasn’t a girl."
I stood there, shocked. It wasn't her but someone else and I should be angry about it. Another person turned up dead on a side road but all I could breathe was one thing.
She was alive.
***
PRESENT
“Please, don’t kill me!”
Please, don’t kill me…pleaseee…
Why did it always have to be like that? Why couldn’t it be, I’ll shut up and let you feed in peace? Or better yet, here, take meee. But no. The girl was still screaming.
“I’m sorry! Do you want money? I’ll give you everything I have. You can even take my son with you!” I doubted the son in question was still alive by the way she was beating him earlier. Only an eleven month baby and gone from the world. Pity. Real pity.
“Oh, dolly, dolly but he’s not breathing.” I let her know with a pout. “Besides, I like you as desert. Not him. They are too fussy.”
The girl looked at the baby and let out another cry. No doubt almost getting someone’s attention. I never played with my food before but for some reason, this one seemed to be worthy of that. But I had a short time and so much to do.
