"Are all of you okay?" Lara's words clashing against the soft cries of the black robed man who was slowly being swarmed by the five kids. "Is reverend sister okay?" One of them asked, Lara's question going unanswered before the black robed man took notice of her. "Thank you for saving us!" The man said in between in his tears, the kids sobbing as well. "Of course, I heard that you needed help." She said, getting closer to the pool of blood.
The kids unable to handle the blood began to back away, some even throwing up while Lara felt the morbidity in the air. 'Had I been a bit faster I would have been able to save her.' She inwardly mused as she balled her fists. "We can't stay here for long, we have to leave!" Her words were met with cries from the man who after some time turned to face her, now standing with his black robes tainted with blood.
"Of course but we have nowhere to go not to mention some of these kids are hungry. They're from strays that would make their way to us, with some having their parents killed." The man whispered as the two looked at the kids who were consoling each other. "Are there any other stores in this town? We could go and see if they have any food for them." Her words elicited a frown out the man. "How would you be able to walk with the hound lingering about? Not to mention I'm certain that by now those stores would be raided."
Lara let out a sigh."We could figure out the food issue later on but for now, you can't keep on staying here. You could come with me to the hotel, there's lots of spaces that these kids could stay at." The man furrowed his brows before stealing glances at the kids that we now breaking into small laughs, trying to cheer themselves up in the bleak situation they were in. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. My name is Stephen by the way."
Stephen ushered his hand to Lara for a handshake. "My name is Lara." The two shaking hands before Stephen made his way to the kids and urging them that they would be leaving. "What about sister? Are we going to leave her body like that?" One of them asked, taking a peek at the corpse. "No, I'll come back for it after we get to the hotel." Lara stepped forward which earned her skeptical looks from the kids. "This is Lara, the one who saved us from hound."
Lara beamed a smile which disarmed most of them. "Hello Lara." They said in unison before they started making their way back to the hotel. Stephen was edge the entire way there while Lara was at ease, certain that her poison would be able to incapacitate if not kill the beast. 'Looks like I didn't need his help.' She told herself as they arrived at the hotel, this time Jimmy was absent thus they had to wait at the lobby.
Lara made her way to Andrew's room which turned out to be absent aside from the note.
[{We'll be back in a while. Went to get some edge off}]
'What do they mean getting some edge off? Don't tell me that they're going on a killing spree.' A thought that sent shivers down her spine as she made her way back to the lobby where Jimmy was present. "Jimmy, these kids are from the church and with them is Stephen." Lara chimed in before her eyes narrowed on Jimmy's figure. 'Is that…blood?' She couldn't help but wonder, her eyes narrowing as Jimmy kept on wearing his ear to ear smile.
"Oh, it's nice to know that you're going out of your way to help the folks of this town. Not a lot of people would have such a huge heart like yours." Jimmy said as he turned his attention to Stephen and the kids. 'There's no way that I would get that wrong. It has to be blood.' Lara mused as she occasionally stole glances at Jimmy, certain that there was something that the caretaker was hiding. She wordlessly got up and left, choosing to go for a small tour within the hotel.
Pictures were all over, some detailing the town and others the hotel. She kept on exploring till making her way outside where a small shed was present. 'The smell of blood is getting stronger. I guess being huddled with monsters has allowed me to have an acute smell of blood. It's fresh too as well.' She inched closer to the wooden store and opened it.
The store wasn't huge, barely lit before she saw something that made her stomach drop. "That is blood, but whose is it? I don't think that those two would leave Jimmy alive after preying on him. Or is Jimmy a killer as well?" She looked around however nothing stuck out to her before the stench of blood only grew stronger heading further away from the hotel. 'It's more like he's bleeding rather than having someone else's blood.' She concluded, letting out a sigh that she wouldn't have to deal with another killer.
"Missy, what are you doing here?" Heading out, she ran into Jimmy who had his smile. "I was just wandering around is all." Her words did nothing to convince Jimmy who was blocking the exit. "Well you can't just be wandering by yourself like that. Who knows what you'll run into out here given the rumors of the Willowfen hound." Lara let out a nervous chuckle. "I was a bit ignorant, well I have to leave Jimmy."
Jimmy paused, as if checking something before stepping to the side. "Your friends are rather interesting people. I can tell that they have a past with each other while you seem to be…added on, as if you're not meant to be with such people." His words brought her to a halt. "What would make you think that?" A tingle coursed across her scalp, her fist balled. "I was just saying, after all the two spend so much time together like lovers while you seem to follow them. But if I am wrong, please educate me as I'm too old to be understanding what the youth are up to."
Despite the smile on Jimmy's lips, Lara could feel the taut air between the two of them. Something on the verge of breaking out. "You're quite observant Jimmy." She let a dry laugh settle between the two of them. "Well as of late my eyes have been acting up and my vision has been blurry. Maybe when you go on your expeditions, you could go to the clinic and get me some eye medication." Jimmy chuckled as Lara gave a stiff nod and left.
Jimmy watched Lara leave before he let out a mouthful of blood. "Gah!" His smile fading and replaced with a look of concern. "This can't go on, I need to hurry." His murmur faint as he vanished into the wooden store.
. . .
"Where were you two?" Lara inquired as she saw Andrew and Brittany's figure, the latter being carried in a piggyback manner. "We went out for some air and Andrew gave me some pointers on what my weave is about." Brittany smiled as she crashed onto the bed, letting out a groan of exhaustion. "Andrew, I think that there's something odd with the caretaker. He had an odor of blood on him when he came back." Her words elicited a brow rise from Brittany. "That's rather odd as Andrew was talking about killing him. I knew that you would come around and drop that pretentious bullshit of morality." Lara could only grimace hearing Brittany's words.
"It's not an act unlike the relationship between you two. It's more of a one sided relationship with you doing the pulling while Andrew just morphs into whatever shape you want him to be." Brittany didn't lose her smile, falling silent. "We'll kill him tomorrow." Andrew's words taking Lara by surprise. "I said that he was being rather odd, not that I want him dead." Andre sat next to Brittany, his figure lazily seating on the bed edge. "Killing him is the only way we could deal with him."
Lara palmed her face. 'Here we go again.' She let out a sigh as she stared at Andrew. "Not because your way of solving matters is through death means that is the only way we'll go about it. If he really sketchy then we could have him locked up, or he could have a condition that has him bleeding that we don't know. Killing him would be too brash and impulsive."
Andrew faced Lara, the air turning hostile between the two. He didn't argue and she didn't bother explaining why as she left her room. 'Does killing the only thing in your mind other than fucking Brittany?' She scorned Andrew in her mind as she entered her room and collapsed on her bed. 'I still can't believe that I'm with this bandwagon of killers. What has my life come to?' Her face covered with her hands as she prepared herself to rest.
*The next day*
"Have you seen Jimmy?" Lara asked Stephen who was lounging in the main lobby. "No, I haven't seen him after yesterday, why?" Lara looked around, perplexed. "Just asking, there's a leaky faucet in my room is all." Andrew entered the room, his dead pan face intriguing Stephen. "You must be the friend of Lara who came with her." Stephen musde, extending a hand. "Let's go, we're wasting time here." Andrew said ignoring Stephen's hand and headed for the exit.
"Looks like you weren't kidding when you said that he was a bit distant. But still it would be great if he could talk more. In such dire times, we only have each other as we face the unknown." Stephen's words stiffened Lara's smile. "I know but he doesn't bother on changing." Stephen didn't push the matter as one of the kids attracted his attention.
"You didn't have to be a dick, at the very least you could have shaken his hand." Lara reprimanded Andrew, the two making their way through the deserted streets. "I don't have to talk with every one I meet, given that they'll all die sooner or later." His words brought a frown to her face before coming to a junction. "Where are we even going? You haven't told me." Taking a left, the two started to make their way towards the outskirts of the town before arriving at a beaten path.
"Do you smell his blood?" His question cutting through the silence between them. "Uh? Oh, I do smell…blood though it's faint though fresh. Looks like he went this way." Crooked trees arched above them, the fog got denser and denser to the point they could barely see a few meters ahead of them. Their journey didn't last long before they arrived at a cave.
Rocky and barren, Lara gulped while Andrew stepped inside with no form of hesitation. He produced a small lighter which barely illuminated the place before torches came into view. The two kept on walking before a figure came into view, on the floor with blood trailing down from their lips. "Jimmy? What happened?!" Lara asked as she closed in and assessed his state.
'What the hell happened to his eyes?' Lara couldn't help but wonder as she looked at Jimmy's eyes. One of them trickling with his blood while the other trickled with a fluid that resembled molten gold. "I…can't…see…" His voice faint as he reached out and grabbed Lara.
*Thud-Thud-Thud*
Heavy steps began to echo, growing louder and louder from deeper in the cave before the faint light from the lighter revealed that it was the same hound that had been terrorizing the town. Similar to Jimmy, the hound had one of it's eyes bleeding profusely and the other with blotches of gold and foam. "Can….you help me….missy? I need….help…"