SWNOVELS Chapter 3: Somebody
Roman was running like a living torpedo. Aubrey, surprisingly, wasn’t far behind.
“Is there a reason you’re still following me?” He called back to her.
“Yes. I want to see what you’re getting yourself into.”
He wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly because of the wind whistling in his ears.
“Why is that any of your concern?” He said, stopping for a moment to face her.
His abrupt stop caught her off guard and she slammed into him, her head smacking his hand both groaned in pain.
“Jesus! Ow!” said Roman, backing up and rubbing his sore head.
“Sorry,” said Aubrey, clutching her own head.
“I just want to see if this bloodbath you talked about is connected to Greek monsters.”
“Greek monsters?”
“Yes, Greek monsters. Like most of the people in the bar.”
“Maybe that’s why I couldn’t smell or sense them.”
Aubrey thought it about it for a second.
“Yeah, that’s probably it. Regular people couldn’t even see their true forms anyways, but the fact you saw the bodyguard’s form means you just have to adjust to seeing Greek monsters.”
Roman rubbed his chest gingerly, remembering the indents that had disappeared from his chest.
“What was he?” Roman asked her.
“A centaur. A pretty old one too, that’s why his form was so massive. He was probably a great warrior in his youth.”
“I’d like to repay him for kicking my fucking chest in.”
“No, you can’t do that. You were part of the problem.”
“Problem? I came over to talk to you and that old guy felt like he had the balls to-”
The smell of blood got stronger and sharper like it was getting close.
“What?” said Aubrey. “What’s wrong?”
“The Bloodbath. Whatever it is, either the victim or the predator, something’s fleeing the scene. I’m still going. If you still want to come, go ahead, but I don’t think you will like what you see.”
Roman didn’t wait for a response. He took off at full speed and left her struggling to catch up. When he reached a fast food restaurant, he stopped and lonelier at the edge, sniffing the air.
“Is it inside?” asked Aubrey as she kneeled beside him.
“No.,” he said quietly. “But the smell of blood has branched off in two directions. It starts here, behind this place, but the other trail leads west of here, probably heading to downtown.”
“Which one are you going after?”
“The ones that already ran away are gone, but still trackable with enough skill. Let’s find out what this is.”
Roman walked very slowly around the restaurant, taking in all details around him. The restaurant was mostly clean on the outside, a little trash here and there but cleaner than most. The dumpsters in the back gave off a pungent odor that stung his nose like acid, but it still didn’t interfere with the smell of fresh blood.
He came to the edge of the wall and stared at a pool of blood. He wasn’t sure at first, but the pool of blood was still expanding, just like he thought it’d be. He turned the corner and found a woman lying face down in the pool of blood, her neck bent at an awkward angle and her clothes shredded and torn.
“Damn.” He muttered under his breath. Several attackers. But what was the point? There aren’t that many vampires here. Most locals don’t kill and leave the body behind, this had to come from foreigners. Roman just had to find out who they were. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the body.
“Rolan... uh, it doesn’t feel safe out here,” Aubrey told him.
Roman laughed. “My name’s Roman, and duh, you should’ve expected that. You don’t seem that scared though. Have you seen dead bodies before?”
“Yea, but that’s not what I mean. I feel like something wants to kill us.”
“I’m used to it.” He said bluntly.
Roman reached down to check the woman’s pockets before realizing she probably carried a purse. “Hey, look around and see if you find anything that belongs to her,” Roman told Aubrey.
“Got it.”
Roman thought about not touching the woman. The police would arrive sooner or later.
He pulled out his phone and took a couple of photos. He could visit a coven nearby, or a hangout space, and ask a couple of questions. Every vampire in this city was tasked with keeping their existence a secret. It was more than just watching out for yourself, you had to watch out for every vampire in the city. If vampires were ever exposed, the leaders in D.C would slaughter every vampire in the city, man, woman, and child.
“I found her purse and her phone!” Aubrey called out. “She wasn’t mugged because her wallet is still in here. She has a lot of money too.”
“She had a lot of money,” Roman corrected her while reaching for the phone and purse.
“What do you mean by that?” She asked him. “Would you really rob a dead woman?”
“Oh God no. I said had because she’s dead.”
He pressed the power button and the screen lit up. The lock screen was a glowing picture of the woman lying face down in her own blood.
“Wow,” said Roman quietly. “She was really pretty.”
Aubrey turned the phone toward her so she could have a look.
“Yeah. She was.”
“Call the police. I’m gonna unlock her phone with her fingerprint, see if I can find anyone close to her to let them know.”
Roman unlocked his phone and handed it to her. As she took the call, he bent down and gently lifted the woman’s wrist. Her skin was still warm, though it felt like the air around him got colder. Roman slightly pressed her fingerprint against the phone and it vibrated.
The fingerprint doesn’t match. Try again.
He tried every single finger, but none of them worked.
“What the hell?” Roman muttered. He got up to dust himself off when he heard Aubrey scream.
“WATCH OUT ROMAN!”
He looked up just in time to see a kid with long hair jump at his face. He grabbed the kids and trying to hold her still, but she was strong and extremely angry.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!” the girl screamed, thrashing wildly.
Roman was trying to contain her, trying to calm her down but the girl was distressed and erratic.
“MOVE! GET AWAY FROM HER!”
Roman finally got a look at her face. Her eyes looked like cataracts and glowed white, her cheeks were wet, probably from crying, and she screamed in rage.
“STAY AWAY FROM MY MOM!”