[Blood Diary Entry]
When I woke up, the sun was already setting, the sky was painted in an orange hue.
It's strange to wake up at this hour, but also oddly comforting.
I looked around my room, taking in the view for the nth time. Empty walls, save for a few posters of bands my mother introduced to me. Old books and some comics arranged haphazardly atop a crooked shelf. A wooden desk with a few papers and pens scattered about.
Mom insisted on homeschooling me, since it would be really hard to find a school that could accommodate our 'schedule', and she actually preferred to do it herself, easier to accompany my progress or so she would say.
Sigh. I'm getting side-tracked.
I get up from my horribly creaking bed, toss some clean clothes and go to the bathroom to freshen up.
I splash some cold water on my face and start brushing my teeth. Meanwhile I spend some time looking at myself.
Pale skin—highly expected from one who barely sees the sun—barely to the point where some would call it sickly. Dark as night wild hair, I run my hands over it, straightening it and styling my hair the way I like it—brushed backwards and split a bit towards the right side.
I flashed a brief cocky grin.
My teeth were slightly sharp, Mom sometimes jokes calling me, 'her little shark', she also said I was a pain in the ass to breastfeed when the first few teeth were popping up.
I hear Mom scurrying about the apartment, a frantic gait to her step.
Odd.
What bug bit her?
I left the bathroom to see what's going on.
Mom is pacing about, a frantic look on her face, she carries multiple notes. Sometimes she tosses one aside, only to pick up a new one. She murmurs and mumbles things I don't quite hear, but I do get a few words in.
Stray, rogue, rule breaker, newborn, and dangerous.
I don't quite understand any of it, I don't have the context, but they still make little sense.
I frown.
"Mom, what's going on?" I ask with worry seeping from my tone.
She looks at me all the while with a soft smile on her lips. But one I know all too well is fake.
"Nothing sweetie, we'll just be going to Ms. Thorn a bit earlier today." She turns her back on me, I can guess she knows I don't quite believe her, and I think she feels guilty for lying to me—judging by her slightly shaking shoulders. "Are you all ready sweetie? Anything you need before we go?"
"Not really, Mom." I decide not to ask, since I kinda promised that to her yesterday, I'll just trust she has things under control.
She exhales in relief. "Okay then, Mom is also ready, so let's get going on, shall we? Let's just get some sun on that pale skin of yours"
I narrow my eyes. "And why is that I don't see the sun all that much?"
She flinches slightly.
"Besides your skin doesn't have all that much color on mine."
She lets out a few giggles, her mood calming down a great deal.
Hah, success! I am a genius.
She grabs my hand, and we leave the apartment together.
The journey itself was unremarkable and uneventful. But I did notice the streets were quieter, far emptier than I am used to.
It didn't take too long to reach the bookstore. Even with Mom's insistence to keep to the main streets we took about twenty or so minutes. Otherwise, we would have arrived in five or six minutes.
Though when we arrived the sun had already set, and night took hold of the sky.
Ms. Thornes's bookstore was empty, save for the woman herself, but it seemed like she didn't intend to stay for long.
Mom pushed the door open; the quaint sound of a bell's chime echoed in the bookstore.
The old woman paused, her attention going towards us.
Her brows furrowed softly, and she sighed briefly.
We made our way to her, Mom's steps sounded even more hurried than when we were at home, I could barely keep up.
"Why are you here, Isolde?" I could catch the faintest hints of exasperation on her tone. "You know this isn't exactly a good time, after all, I took the time to warn you. Even used that little awkward talking box you insist on carrying around."
I found her choice of words odd.
"You mean a cellphone, Ms. Thorne?" I asked amusedly.
She looked at me with a dry gaze and then chose to ignore me entirely.
Rude…
"The question still stands girl. You are risking yourself needlessly."
Mom is risking herself? Just what the hell is going on?
"I couldn't just stay home, you know that. This time it's not going to cut it. If I could have I would, you know that." Mom's tone was hurried, desperate, and almost begging.
The old woman's eyes softened.
She sighed, walked around back to the counter. She started rummaging beneath it, I heard the soft clinking of glass.
Before long she showed us a flask with a strange swirling black liquid.
"Spray this on your doorstep. Should keep unwanted visitors away." She pushed the flask towards us.
Mother picked it up, gratitude oozing from her.
"Thank you, Ms. Throne, I'll be sure to repay you."
Ms. Thorne smiled gently.
"No need girl. Just be sure to get home safely, will you?"
"I'll do just that!" Her grasp tightened around my hand. "Let's go home Darian."
We walked towards the exit of the bookstore, and the moment we left, I turned around to wave goodbye to Ms. Thorne. But when I did, I saw the closed sign, the lights shut off, and Ms. Thorne was nowhere in sight.
A prickling feeling rushed down my neck. The air felt just a bit colder than it was supposed to be.
Soft drizzle hit us. Just on the day we didn't bring an umbrella.
How quaint.
Mother looked all around us, her head frantically rushing from one side to the next, making me worry she was going to snap her own neck.
A second later I understood what got her so skittish. There was absolutely no one on the streets. As far as the sight could go, absolute silence. Even the faint hum of the city was gone.
Cold sweat started forming on my back, a bad feeling overtook me.
"Mom… We need to go home. I- I want to go home."
She just grasped my hand a bit tighter, a reassuring gesture. Then she just started walking, as fast as she could.
My legs burned with the effort; my breath came hard and heavy.
This time Mom didn't care about her 'no alleyways' rule. We were just rushing towards our home as fast as we could.
Turning on a particular shady alley that felt even emptier than the rest of the city, I felt the world darken, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. The same feeling Ms. Thorne and Safia gave me, only much worse.
Just as we reached the middle of the alley…
"Well, well… What have we here?" A cold and mocking voice echoed behind us.