I look back at the moron, Sam, as he hits on every woman we walk past while wearing a pair of obnoxiously oversized sunglasses. I brought Sam instead of Aponi or Eden for a couple of different reasons. First of all, I really wanted to bully someone to make myself feel better. If it's Aponi or Eden, I'd feel a little bad. As for the others Terry probably wouldn't go along with me, Audrey's too afraid of everything, the Staff Captain might be dead as I forget to take him on walks or feed him sometimes, and Bryan would be at home in an insane asylum not that I'd bring him anyways. As for the remaining people, I haven't talked to any of them enough to know if they'd be fun to tease.
The other reason I brought Sam is that he seems to be the only one who isn't obviously afraid of me. Even Eden is a little nervous around me even if she wouldn't admit it, but not Sam, for whatever reason.
I point at a person toward the corner of the room, "Hey, Sam. Check out that beauty over here."
Sam nudges my shoulder with his fist, "Ah, yeah. That one's a real good one. You have a good eye, Eira."
"I sure do, Sam."
Sam jokingly slicks back his hair like some kind of lame 1950's greaser and walks up to the "lady," I pointed out.
He cruises up to the person and taps them on the shoulder, "Hey gorgeous; you got a bandaid because I..."
The person begins to turn around… and around…. and around and they keep turning around to the point Sam has to take a step back. I saw this person a few days ago, and they have the weirdest anatomy I've ever seen. I was in the middle of drinking a soda at the time and spit it out into a woman's purse on accident after they spun around.
From the back and at just the right angle, they look like a splendidly curvy woman, but from the front, well, let's just say they've got a lot of front. Not Sam's type, that's for sure. Oh, and I suppose I should also mention that it's not a woman at all, but that's the least amusing thing about this situation.
"Hey, buddy. I don't swing that way. Do I know you or something?" the man put his hands against his sides.
Sam's face drops, and he begins to stutter, "I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I thought you were someone else."
He runs off like the coward he is.
"Eira, you knew, didn't you? You knew!" Sam shouts, grabbing the room's attention.
"I don't know what you're talking about. All I did is point." I say innocently.
"Why would you do that? I trusted you!" Sam shouts.
"As I said, I just pointed. I'm sorry everyone, my brother here has a hard time controlling the level of his voice."
I punch Sam in the leg, nearly causing him to scream out in pain.
"Let's go, brother."
Sam and I walk past the entrance of the hospital, and I glance outside. There are now tents set up all around the hospital, and food stalls are set up for people to eat from. The soldiers walk around with gas masks and a special outer covering that looks like some kind transparent blue plastic sheet. It seems a lot of these soldiers are volunteers, and no one wants to come to this camp as it's the closest to the Crawlers, which is why in a city of three hundred thousand, there are only ten thousand civilians located at this camp.
Anyhow, Terry told me that during his information gathering a lot of the doctors seem to be perplexed. They've had a tough time finding the virus or bacteria responsible for the Crawlers. This isn't surprising because the Crawlers are made through a magical process, so there is no virus or bacteria to find. This has only stifled the government's efforts and made them even more reluctant to release the lockdown as they don't understand the Crawlers at all.
Continuing, Sam and I make our way through the crowded halls and stairways. People are everywhere, and most of them aren't exactly at peak readiness. Well, excluding the occasional civilian walking around with bulletproof vests and assault rifles. It seems their gun hobby is finally paying off.
I look toward Sam, "Okay, Sam, I read online that hospitals typically keep their blood somewhere in Pathology in a refrigerator. This hospital is split into five different buildings, but I think Pathology should be in this building or maybe the Heart Studies building."
"Right! Personally, I think it's this building, and I have a feeling it's this way." Sam says while pointing toward a set of doors.
"Why that way?" I ask.
Sam smiles with confidence, "Call it a lucky guess."
I glance upward where a Pathology sign hangs with an arrow pointing.
I raise an eyebrow beneath my hood, "Mhmm, lucky guess idiot. Come on."
We enter Pathology, something usually difficult for non-hospital personnel, but right now, the hallways are filled with makeshift cots and other facilities for public use. There's a desk to my right where two doctors are gathered around discussing their opinions on the Crawler "illness."
"I think it's bacterial in nature. It just spreads so fast that antibiotics don't work quickly enough, or perhaps it's a superbug.," the younger of the two doctors states.
"You call yourself a doctor? Something like this has to be viral with a short incubation period obviously." the older doctor replies back.
"Damn. I'm just speculating here, okay? There has never been anything like this outside of the movies. Well, actually it's worse than that because at least in the movies they would know if it's a virus or not."
I glance around for a few moments, but I have no idea which room the blood bags might be in. Deciding going room to room might draw too much attention, I choose to sit and watch for a while to see if I can eventually find someone walking around with blood bags. To be perfectly honest with so many people and the military around, I'm not particularly interested in being noticed snooping in places I don't belong. If I can take some time to build my strength, my people, or establish myself in some meaningful way, I'd like to.
To kill time while I wait for any clues, I continue to listen to the two doctors, mostly out of curiosity. The younger doctor keeps arguing the Crawler's illness is bacterial in nature while the older sticks to it being viral. Finally, half an hour later, they change the subject.
"Anyway enough about that. It's not our department or our responsibility. We just need to take care of the wounded." the older doctor says.
"Yeah, yeah. Then if that's what you want to talk about, our most pressing concern right now would be our stock of platelets. I have three patients with leukemia who need platelets, and we are going to run out soon."
The old doctor looks at the youngster like he's stupid, "The Blood Bank is right across the street. Why don't you see if someone is over there?"
"I tried, but the military moved into the facility and is refusing to send any red blood cells, platelets, plasma, or anything else we may need. That means we can only use what we have on hand." the young doctor replies.
The doctor glances toward a door nearby and continues, "Oh. That's weird. Well, we have around seventy units of red blood cells left in storage at least. We'll need those more than platelets or plasma."
"Yeah, but what if we need more? What is the military even doing?"
"Well, I heard they think the Crawler virus may spread through blood and saliva, so maybe that's why they aren't letting us have any blood that was donated recently?"
"Maybe. It would make sense if the Crawler infection spread through blood. I mean that makes more sense then it being airborne, but didn't the infection originally come from that cruise ship that crashed into the docks?"
Surprisingly finding the information I was looking for, I get up and slowly make my way toward the door. The two doctors have turned away, and I reach for the doorknob just in time to hear the two doctor's conversation continue.
"Yeah, it did, but they are just being careful, I guess. By the way, have you been in the storeroom recently? There are soldiers just sitting in there like they're waiting for someone."
I stop just short of turning the knob.
"Yeah, I know. One of the nurses went in earlier, and they looked like they were ready for war in there. They all grabbed their weapons and almost shot the poor woman."
I begin to walk away and motion for Sam to follow. I try to work out how they could possibly know I would be looking for blood only to remember a misstep I made back on the 'Moonlight'.
"They seem to be waiting for me… " I say with frustration.
"Waiting for you? How would they know you'd go for the blood bags?"
"...Well, I had almost forgotten, but I may have sucked someone's blood on camera once back on the Moonlight. I got a little too caught up in the moment, I suppose."
"Shit, that wasn't very smart. You know they probably have a task force set aside just to find you, right?"
"Yes, I know. Out of everyone, you're the last person I want to hear that from."
Sam smiles and changes the subject, "Well, where are we going now? Back to the morgue?"
"To surgical. I read that they also keep some blood bags in the operating rooms. They probably have at least ten units in there."
Sam and I wander around the hospital and eventually find signs leading to surgical. When we arrive at the operating rooms, we immediately notice two armed soldiers entering the operating room. A moment later two other soldiers leave the room, making it obvious that some kind of shift change just occurred.
I sigh and turn to leave to come up with a new plan.
**Bang**
I quickly spin around to find someone having crashed into Sam. It seems to be a nurse that was in a hurry to return to the operating room. My eyes move to the ground, where I notice two blood bags lying on the floor. I quickly walk within a couple of feet of the bag and place them both into my storage ring.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm in a hurry." the nurse shouts apologetically.
The woman starts looking around frantically for the blood bags.
"It's okay. My brother here is a bit slow. He should watch where he is standing. Come on, brother."
"What, but I…"
I pinch Sam's leg so hard I almost take the skin off. I drag him away from the woman who is still looking around in confusion and panic.
With a tinge of disappointment, I speak to Sam, "Let's go. I thought it would be simple, but I'll need to come up with a new plan. At least now though I can see what this blood tastes like."
Sam seems confused, but nods. I yank Sam into a family restroom and lock the door. Removing one of the blood bags I read what's written.
-------------------------------
Type O
Red Blood Cells
Adenine-Saline Added
Leukocytes Reduced
-------------------------------
"Hmm."
I grab the tube that sticks out of the top of the bag and undo the seal. I suck the blood through the tube, watching as it makes its way toward my mouth. The blood hits my tongue and… the taste is underwhelming. At least in comparison to what I'm used to.
"This is like the diet cola of blood. It's also a bit saltier than usual, and I'm not a big fan of it being cold either. Its consistency is also off. I'd probably rate this two and a half stars."
"Here, let me try," Sam responds eagerly.
Sam reaches for the blood bag and squeezes. Blood shoots up and splatters on the ceiling tiles.
I sigh and shove the bag into his arms, smearing some blood on his shirt, "Just take it."
Sam drinks some, and his face shows a bit of disappointment, "It's okay, but it has a bit of an… artificial taste, I guess."
I nod in agreement, "Yeah, but either way, it'll work for what I need it for. It'll also help tide everyone over for a while if we can get enough of it. Finish that off, and let's head back to the morgue and regroup."
Hey, guys. I hope you're enjoying the story. This is to let you guys know that I am in the process of moving across the country, so I think I might swap to a Tuesday and Thursday release schedule for the next couple of weeks. This would be starting next week until I get settled in on the other side of the country. Thanks for reading.
I sit with my head propped up against the wall of the morgue. The main reason I came back to the morgue was to go back alone, but I started thinking of alternatives.
'It's tempting to just go to the Blood Bank across the street; there are probably hundreds of more blood bags there.'
However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't know enough about the situation at the Blood Bank. Maybe, in the future, I can go ahead and steal everything before it goes bad, but only after I finish forging.
I glance at Bryan, who hasn't spoken in days, 'I do have some ideas on how I could use him, though. Anyway, let's just hit the hospital storage first.'
Regaining my awareness, I look around the room to find that, other than Bryan, I seem to be alone, so I stand and begin to walk away quietly. Due to the smell of the exploded body, I moved all the humans, excluding Bryan into the storeroom. All of them are sleeping on old sheets and whatever else was in the storeroom. I put Eden in charge of taking care of them. Of all the people here, Eden is probably the most normal. Well, when it comes to some things, she still doesn't make many facial expressions.
Hearing someone walk up behind me, I stop, "Are you planning something? You are scheming something, aren't you?"
I smile and stare off into a corner, "Good afternoon, Aponi. I'm not planning to do anything to any civilians rest assured."
"Yeah, strange choice of words. Well, whatever it is, I'm not going to stop you." Aponi replies.
I turn and gaze at Aponi with surprise, "You aren't?"
"Ha! I knew it! You are planning something." Aponi cries.
Aponi reaches for me, and I take a step back.
I laugh, "Hehe, gotta be quicker than that if you want to catch me."
Aponi sighs, "Yeah, I think everyone realizes that by now. But for real. I'm not going to stop you."
"May I ask why?"
"I've realized that if I try to stop you, you'll just do things in secret. I'd rather just help you and give you my input as you go."
"Oh? Is that the only reason?" I ask with suspicion.
Aponi's expression changes slightly, "Well, I've had some odd dreams lately… and I've come to realize I can't fight what I am now. So my choices are suicide or embracing it. I already decided I didn't want to die. I've got things I want to do. I have a strong urge to help."
I smile and move closer to Aponi, "Okay, then. I want your help right this second."
I grab Aponi's hand and drag her toward the exploded corpse. I yank open the rack exposing the green gooey mess—the thick, stale air washes over my face giving the feeling of being hit by a cloud of mist. The smell follows immediately, and I suppress the tears welling up in my eyes.
"I want you to absorb this body. The smell is horrifyingly bad, and you could use the practice." I say with a grin.
Aponi's face turns green, and she gags, "Is this about that ability you told me about?"
I nod and extend my nail and cut Aponi's palm. She flinches and stares at the thin line of blood growing on her palm.
"Now, absorb this smell away," I command.
She looks between me and the corpse, "I don't know what to do."
I stop to think for a moment, "Hmm, just focus on the spot between and behind your eyes."
"Eira, what the hell does between and behind mean?"
"I'm glad you asked," I reply
I motion for Aponi to come closer. When she gets close, I poke her hard between the eyebrows.
"Now focus on that pain and figure it out. Keep in mind it could be different; that's just how it works for me."
Aponi rubs her forehead, "God, that hurt. It feels like you could poke through a block of concrete."
"Maybe, I haven't tried. I can test it on you if you want, though."
"No! That's fine. I'll see what I can do about this before I vomit." Aponi says quickly.
"Good. Ask Eden if you need any more help."
I wave and walk away before the smell gives me a headache leaving Aponi to figure out her talent. I slip out of the morgue and make my way back to Pathology.
When I'm about halfway, I slide into a corner, lower my hood, and tap the flower in my hair. It glows for a moment, and suddenly the top hat is back on my head.
'Ah, I love the way this thing looks, but let's test its ability.'
I focus on injecting mana into the hat, and it lights up with a very faint blue glow.
'Uh, is it working? I think it's working?'
Hearing someone coming, I walk out from the corner with my hood still down. It's a group of three old ladies chatting about recent events, which is pretty much what everyone talks about here.
"I voted for President McCracken, and now I regret it."
"Tell me about it! How can he keep us here! I'm old, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to die."
Suddenly one of the women stops, "Shut up, Hillary. Look over there!"
The woman points at me, and the other two turn their heads in my direction.
"...she's."
"So cute!"
The three old ladies charge toward me at a pace that defies their age.
"Oh my gosh! I love your green eyes; they are so pretty!"
"Green? They are clearly blue, and your blonde hair is so perfect!" Another one of the women squeals.
"Blonde? I thought she was brunette?" the last woman says. "Wait, no. I guess she is blonde…"
I raise an eyebrow, but force a grin and chuckle, "You are all far too kind! Thank you for the compliments!" I reply happily.
'So it seems they just see what they think they should see? It also seems like someone's perception changes depending on other's words and observations.'
I give the three ladies an awkward look and stare at the floor.
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
I play with my earlobe and make myself look pitiful, "Well, my sister made fun of my skin and ears. She said I was pale, and my ears were too long. It made me sad."
"Oh, dear. Your ears are so small and cute, and your skin is perfectly tan." One of the women says.
"I agree your ears are small and cute, but she's definitely not very tan." Another of the women asserts
"Ye-yeah? Maybe, you're right. Either way, she's cute!"
The woman reaches for my head. I watch as her hand phases through the top hat, and she runs her fingers through my hair.
"Your hair is so soft!" The lady exclaims.
"Thank you! But I need to be getting back now. Maybe I'll see you again someday."
"Yes, sweetie. We're in a tent near the food carts. Come find us some time."
"Yes, will do granny," I declare while walking away.
"Granny? I'm not that old, am I?"
"Yeah, you're older!"
The three old ladies laugh as I turn the corner.
I walk past a window and study my reflection, 'So the top hat doesn't actually change my appearance. It just makes people think I look different than I actually do. Well, that makes sense. It's called the Master of Deception for a reason. I should be careful there are probably a few weaknesses involved with an effect like this.'
With that thought, I return to the area Sam and I were scouting earlier. The Blood storage room is quiet, and most people have left to get in line at the dinner stalls before sundown.
I stop at the door, 'Okay, if things go how I hope great! If things start going south, then I'll deal with it. If they fire on me immediately, my shield will block it, and I'll disappear before they realize.'
I walk up to the blood stockroom door and take a deep breath before knocking loudly.
Taking on the attitude of a naive girl, I shout, "Hello, anyone in there! I've really gotta go!"
I toss open the door and hear the sounds of rapid movements and the sound of weapons being prepped. I gaze around the room and find six heavily outfitted soldiers with their guns at the ready.
I gasp and take a step back, "I-I'm sorry. Is this not the bathroom?"
"Hands up! Hands up!" One of them yells.
The soldiers start communicating on their walkie-talkies.
I put up my hands and ignore the conversation over the walkie-talkie. Instead, I start gathering the information I want, 'Two near the back left corner, two in the middle of the room, and two near the back right corner although not as far as the first group. The back wall seems to be where all the refrigeration is for the blood. I'll just need to avoid that area.'
"I'm sorry I'll just leave now!" I say as I turn around.
"Girl, don't move a damn muscle!"
I stop.
"What were you trying to do just now?"
"I thought this was the bathroom."
"Does she fit the description?" One person asks.
One man looks into a scope that is pointed at me and shows some concern.
"No, she's the right height, but nothing else seems right. Except for her body temp, which seems low."
"Huh? Let me see."
The man looks into it and frowns, "Damn, all of you new boots are worthless. Don't even know how to read a damn infrared scope. She's fine."
"But sir! Her… wait now, it looks normal? I coulda swore it was showing up cold earlier."
I tilt my head, and a bead of sweat drops from my neck, 'Body temp? Oh, I didn't think about them checking that, but it seems like Mr.Top Hat has me covered.'
"She's obviously not her. Listen, the bathroom's down the hall to the left. Go."
"Thank you, Mister," I reply cheerfully before closing the door and running off.
However, I don't go far. I circle back and enter a room next to the blood storage. The room is full of filing cabinets along with loose furniture that looks to have been taken from the halls and placed in here to make more room. I deactivate the top hat and put it back into its passive flower state.
I check my mana, finding the top hat seems to use something like a point of mana a minute. Not very efficient until the world's mana levels rise higher.
Having made my way to this room, I switch off the lights and move toward the wall that faces the room of soldiers.
'Let's see. Two around here, two around here, and two around here.'
I extend my nail and make several small marks in each location.
'This is going to take a while.'
At the first point, I dig my nails into the wall as silently as possible, swiveling my hand back and forth. My nails drill deeper and deeper into the wall. Once I get about what I guess is around the halfway point, I stop. Over the next few hours, I continue this going from hole to hole until I've made around twenty holes. I got back to each hole and then widen them all to around half an inch. Finally, I make one last go around and fill each hole with blood sealing off the ends to keep the blood from flowing out.
I step back and admire my work. I step back and take out the mana pulse earring. I pool some blood on the ground and place the earring in the pool. I stare at the crack beneath the door, watching the hall lights flicker and hearing the panicked voices of the people outside. Finally, when the lights turn off, I remove the earring and look back at the wall.
I snap my finger, "Blood Spikes." I whisper.
The sound of the wall cracking and breaking of objects echoes. Combined with a few quick yelps of pain.
[7 Essence Acquired]
[8 Essence Acquired]
[7 Essence Acquired]
[6 Essence Acquired]
[8 Essence Acquired]
'I missed one?'
I move to the wall and place my ear against it. Hearing the faint sounds of labored breathing just on the other side, I tap the wall checking for any studs. Not hearing anything odd, I extend my claws and stretch my arm back. With all the force I can muster, I slam my hand into the drywall.
Coming into contact with flesh, I pull it back, sending chunks of drywall flying. The wall quickly crumbles under the force of the army soldier being pulled through. Once my vision settles on his neck, I dig my fangs into it. A moment later, his labored breathing stops.
[9 Essence Acquired]
The sweet and savory taste of blood feels my nose and senses causing me to shiver in pleasure.
'Now, this is what blood should taste like. I'd rate this around a four. I wonder what blood type this person was?'
I stare at the corpses and sigh, "I should probably take them. Leaving bodies has really screwed me in the past. I might be able to salvage a couple of these corpses. Normally corpses like these are way too damaged to get any blood out of."
I store the corpses and amazingly all, but the last one fits. I drop some snacks on the floor to make room and run to the refrigerators, quickly opening them. I end up finding a few packs of platelets, some plasma, and finally, around sixty units of red blood cells. Deciding to take them all, I again press the flower, turning it into a top hat. I drop the hat on the ground and begin tossing blood bags into it.
'This was one of the additional features mentioned while using <Analyze>. The hat has a small storage capacity along with the requirement that whatever you store has to be able to fit through the hats opening.'
I start filling up the top hat until all the blood packs have been stored away. I return to my snack pile and begin tossing them into the top hat as well. Until I eventually run out of room in the top hat.
I activate the top hat's active ability. I look down at my feet, finding little bloody footprints all over the floor. I frown and walk up to a blanket one of the soldiers had been using and wipe my feet on it. I glance back at the destroyed wall, footprints, and snacks that are soaking up the bloody puddles.
I sigh, and exit the room, "Well, they'll definitely know it was me, I guess."
Happy with my haul, I skip down the hallway back toward the morgue—the lights flicker back on as I enter the stairwell.
Reminder: next chapter will be Tuesday.
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