Avie got a flash of an older woman covered in her own lifeblood in the middle of the woods. “… This was just recently?”
“Couple days ago, just under a week. Which means no more cleaning tables for this gal as soon as Monday!”
Sandra deserved the big break more than anyone Avie had met. She was so elated and relieved with getting the new job with an increased pay grade, no longer having to worry about her financial struggles. The only thing that peeved in the back of the redhead’s mind was Elaine had to disappear for the promotion to happen.
She had a funny feeling that Elaine was the anonymous woman she stumbled upon just days ago.
“You’re going to have it so easy then, would I get to still see you if I loiter in every week?”
Sandra wiped small tears of joy with the back of her hand, “Probably not as much. Gonna miss all your visits though, sugar. You’ll have to stop in early in the mornin’s if ya can manage. Wanna try the new cinnamon roll?”
Looking down to see her hand resting above the picture of said confectionary, she nodded, “Yeah, it looks amazing.” The waitress nodded back, getting up from the booth, “Wait, Sandy,” she turned back to look at Avie, who paused with an admission on her tongue, “… I’m really happy for you.”
She couldn’t do it.
“Thank you, sugar. Let me get you that ‘roll. S’on the house.”
Conflicting emotions run through her as she watched Sandy leave; could she truly feel happy for one if misfortune had to befall another?
The mystery Dewey Decimal team finally hit a wall.
Avie saw Owen become visibly frustrated, throwing down items as he slouched back in his seat, “It’s like one step forward, then two steps back,” he said with a grunt.
They were up late, running over anything they could that came close to what the woman experienced with the blood samples in the comfort of his home.
“We will just have to wait for the blood test to come back, then it may reveal more?”
“I don’t know, Aves. I’m starting to think this is another false lead. You’re the only one that has this, it might not important to the overall mystery.”
Her grip tightened, upset to hear those words coming from Owen.
“It’s damn important to me, I wish I could shut this off. It’s still intense, I need to find out what’s causing it.”
“Maybe it’s psychosomatic?”
Looking at him, a frown plastered in discontent for his suggestion, “You’re kidding, right?”
Avie knew that he was frustrated, but so was she. She was the one that had to deal with the afflictions every odd week, if anything, the redhead wanted to find the answers more than he did.
She rationalized that he was just speaking out of exasperation while he shrugged off her question.
It was only a matter of silent hours later, while invested in a microscope, that the feeling started back up again. Owen looked up to see what was going on as her fingers tensed in the back of her skull, a soft whine coming from her stooped figure.
Clutching at her head, a muffled ringing blurred out all of Owen’s worried words. She wanted to vomit, it washed in, taking up all her attention. His words came in gradually, he was asking something, but not about the sensation.
“Give me your hand!”
Avie’s face scrunched in pain, “What? What for?”
“I’m going to look at your blood.” He took her palm, flipping her hand face up.
“Again? Owen, we couldn’t find anything about it since last time!”
“You weren’t vibrating last time, c’mon we may not get a chance like this again,” he said, voice teetering on the edge of rushed desperation.
Her vision swam, but she focused enough to see the blond pricking at the end of her finger, observing the scarlet drops float out of the puncture. They hovered and bobbed in the air, rapidly dashing a second later across the room and splattering against his window.
It really had been trying to lead her all this time.
“Whuh—what? What the fuck? What was that? What did you do? What the fuck does that mean?”
Owen only watched with a smile on his face as the droplets bled through the muntins to the outside air. “It’s a lead!”
He stood, hurriedly throwing on winter clothing, tripping over clunky boots and throwing open his hall closet door, “Get your coat, we have answers to find,” he continued, grabbing a small box at the top of the shelve, opening it to reveal a small gleaming handgun.
“… Owen, c’mon, why do you need that?”
It was shocking to see him own such a thing. Avie never agreed with the concept, it was scary to think that he had ownership and was dangling the thing around wildly in front of her.
“For protection, whatever is at the end of your blood trail, it could be dangerous.” He haphazardly pointed the extension of it towards her general direction while gesturing at her hand, making her flinch.
“Please, put that away. S-shouldn’t we call someone? An exorcist maybe? This is freaking me out. It’s not normal. And it sure as shit isn’t normal to chase blood around town!”
He looked out longingly past the street, the door opened only a crack, before closing it with a grunt, coming back and kneeling in front of her.
“Avie, this has been our mystery since day one of you coming to the library. We have been met with blocks and dead ends, even after throwing everything at the wall. And now you may have an answer… We might have an answer to this something, and you don’t want that now?”
She thought of Rhulle, her vibrations led her out to his manor before, it’s where the blood would inevitably lead them if they went. Avie was desperate to not have him revealed to Owen. Owen could talk,
