Blood Quest

Laven purposely slowed his pace to the dressing table. He hoped that the pin would somehow be missing, a perfect reason to excuse himself from this Blood Quest. The name Blood Quest seemed appropriate for the act that his parents asked him to do, though he hadn't the faintest idea of why he needs to poke blood out of his skin.

To his dismay, there was a pin with a striking gold colour that came into view when the drawer was pulled.It had been waiting peacefully there in the dark, waiting for the right time to be found by someone, who was Laven of course.

He took the pin and slowly approached the dark entrance.

'What am I gonna do in there? It looks like I will never be able to see light again if I enter that... Is this some kind of treasure hunt? Perhaps the treasure is in that door they mentioned in the letter and the key to unlock it is in the parcel,' he fell into a deep thought.

If he didn't follow their instructions, he was afraid that something bad might happen. There must be a reason if they asked him to do so, it must be for his own good.

He tilted his head and looked down.He saw a faint glow. It was hard to differentiate whether it was red or pink. Nevertheless, he knew what he had to do.

Holding the pin in his right hand, Laven prepared himself to poke his left hand's thumb. He knew it was going to hurt, because scientifically, the area covering from the tip of the finger until that palm of the hand are very sensitive as they have a lot of pain receptors. Laven preferred poking the thumb, rather than his tongue or some other body parts.

Every inch of the gap covered between the pin and left thumb resulted in more vigorous shivering of the hands. He could feel his fingers becoming cold.

'What if I just go in?' Laven had a final thought but quickly dismissed it.

A sharp pain was felt, allowing not one, but more that three drops of blood to fall. Some hit the target precise, others landed elsewhere. He had successfully completed the procedure, as he managed to drop a few drops of blood onto the faint red glow.

After realising that he might have accidentally poked a little too deep, the pin was released. The burning sensation on his thumb didn't subside and blood was still dripping out. The scene of witnessing his own blood drip and the pain felt made Laven whimper.

He was about to cry when he noticed that the faint red glow suddenly moved away and vanished into thin air. The sudden movement shocked Laven, causing his tears that were about to roll down get sucked back inside. It was startling cause there wasn't any possible reason that can explain what just happened.

Still, Laven forced himself to walk a few steps forward without looking back, though curiosity was burning within.

Suddenly, the whole room lit up but not so brightly. He didn't bother to look around even when he knew that it wasn't lamps or bulbs that lit up the place. There was light and heat that accompanied together, he thought that it might be orbs lit with fire.

Though he didn't know about the source of light, he made sure to look down. Acting like everything was perfectly normal, he continued reading Step 4.

"Step 4: Good boy. You have managed to come this far. Descend the stairs and you'll find three rooms. Do not bother about the rooms at the left and right. DO NOT ENTER THEM, YOU WILL DIE IF YOU DO THAT!!! There'll be a lock on the door, figure out the password based on the clue below:

Cozy, soft, something you would want to cuddle,

But predators don't easily get to grab it like a handle,

I chose to give you this easy riddle,

Because soon you would have to face a hard bundle.

Son, each line has a meaning... The first two lines will give you the answer, the final two are a simple description of the future. It's better for you to remember it.

I guess it's pretty easy for you to guess the answer. You just have to tell the answer out loud and the door will unlock by itself. "

Of course Laven knew the answer to that riddle! He knows very well about his favourite animal. A grin appeared on his face. This quest by his parents wasn't that intimidating or difficult after all. Unfortunately, he relaxed too soon.

Laven decided to turn back and see for himself by what they meant to dare him, now he was in a completely calm state.

To his horror, he noticed someone's head on the floor. It belonged to a man.

He couldn't figure out whether the man's head was glued to the floor or if the man's body penetrated the floor. The man smiled when his gaze met Laven's.

"Welcome, Young Master! We pledge our loyalty to you," the man's smile grew wider.

Laven noticed something else too, which didn't help to ease him at all. The source of light.

Similar to the man, there was a row of heads sticking out from both sides of the wall. There were women too. Their tongues were stuck out, and a medium sized fire was burning, on each of their tongue. They were arranged in a neat row on each side. Only their heads were visible, their bodies God knows where.

Laven wanted to run, but he was so spooked out that his body wouldn't even tremble.

"We have been hibernating for so long!" one of the women's head spoke.

Laven could feel all of their gazes on him, he was the current hot spot of attention. All of their eyes were twinkling with curiosity and excitement, the total opposite of what Laven was feeling now.

"Ah, I thought it was an intruder! I prepared my mouth to savour him as tantalising meat or rejuvenating drink. But now I guess we have to go back to a long boring sleep again!" another man spoke, looking both excited and disappointed.

"Don't worry! He means fried chicken or mushroom soup!" another woman tried to comfort Laven but it didn't work at all.

The fire on their tongue disappeared when they spoke and reappeared when they stuck their tongues out again in a statue manner.

At this point, he looked like a kitten surrounded by ferocious lions.

"Master has a son! What a cute boy he is," a man's head, right beside him looked at Laven in awe.

'Oh God, please make me faint! There's no other way to escape!' Laven was desperate this time. However, he quickly took back his prayer when he realised that fainting would only make things worse. He couldn't cry as well because his eyes didn't have the energy to produce tears.

"Silence everyone!" the man or precisely, the man's head on the floor hushed everyone off. His expression was stern for a moment before it turned into a warm smile, which was directed to Laven.

"I am Everett, the leader of the Incendor race, he clarified his identity.

Laven wanted to run, but his feet felt too numb. They wouldn't move!

"Young Master, you don't have to be scared of us. It's our duty to protect you, besides following your orders," his head moved forwards towards Laven. Luckily not too close or else, Laven might have gotten a heart attack.

How could Laven be unafraid of them? He had never encountered such beings before. Now, it was obvious that they weren't humans. He could feel the pressure on his nerves. There's a high possibility that this Blood Quest might cause Laven to get high blood pressure.

"And everyone.... you don't have to worry about hibernating again. The Master's son is here!" a wide grin was visible on Everett's face.

"Young Master, gladly you didn't step on me just now. I dodged it perfectly," he continued.

"But hats off to you, your blood was very tasty and energising Young Master. It's an honour to taste your blood, thank you," he licked his lips.

Laven's heart was dangerously throbbing.

Everett's tongue came out, it was really long and Laven noticed a faint red glow on it.

His tongue glided all the way until Laven's feet, caressing Laven's toes a bit while licking all the blood on the floor. There was still blood dripping from Laven's thumb, due to the deep wound.

When he felt Everett's tongue on his toes, it caused a tingling feeling and his legs started shaking vigorously. The contact seemed to create a boost of energy out of fear, causing Laven to let out a loud scream before turning away and running with all his might.

His body was finally able to move.

As mentioned in the letter earlier, he came upon a fleet of stairs. He descended the stairs, hoping to reach the end soon. After what seemed like hours, Laven finally reached three doors. This area was lighted up by burning orbs, instead of burning tongues like earlier.

The middle was red, the left one silver and the right one gold in colour.

'The previous things that I had to use or take were gold, but why is it red this time?' Laven questioned himself, wondering if he should open the golden door instead.

After what just happened, he didn't dare to disobey the instructions. He proceeded with the middle door.

He looked at the door knob, actually there wasn't a door knob but a circle which looked like a worm that was curled up. It was big and green in colour.

"Panda!" Laven shouted out loud. If there wasn't a lock there, he might have barged into the room already.

Gladly, he remembered to read the next instructions before entering.

"Step 5: You unlocked the door. Hooray!!! Do you see a freezer? Open it."

When the door opened, a cool breeze cast onto Laven, making him shiver slightly. He entered the room with curiosity.

It was indeed winter now and of course it's cold during winter but why is this room really cold when the heater of the house is on?

It wasn't supposed to be that cold.

"This room itself feels like a freezer!" Laven was surprised by the room's temperature.

He looked around. The room was rather empty. Very few objects lay about, among them was a big box.

Assuming that it was the freezer mentioned, Laven approached it.

The freezer was resting upright, rather than being placed down horizontally.

"I wonder what is in the freezer. Well, they didn't warn about anything. So, that means it might be filled with lots of ice-cream?" he got excited.

"Well, what else can be in there?" he assured himself.

He opened the lid. The content of the freezer was something he would have never expected.

Laven fell on his back, shocked.

"This. Can't. Be. Real," his eyes widened.

The freezer was filled with lots of ice that preserved the body of a dead cat.

The dead cat was black in colour and it was upside down.

He immediately read the letter, wanting an explanation for what he just saw.

"Step 6: Tadaaa.... That will be your new pet!!!

You can decide what to name it. Now, open the parcel."

"A dead animal as my pet!" he couldn't believe his parents.

Just to make sure, Laven felt whether or not he can feel air being exhaled by the cat. Unfortunately, there was nothing, which meant that the cat wasn't alive.

Laven didn't get any answers, but he still proceeded with the next step.

He carefully opened the wrapping, not wanting to ruin it. It can be kept as a special item, one that was gifted by his parents.

In it was a box.

The box was opened. It contained a ring that had a beautiful gem that was deep red in colour. Beside it, there was a bangle which looked like it was made of silver with a short length chain attached to it. It was too short for a necklace.

He had no idea what it was for, but one thing was for sure. It was so beautiful. It looked posh.

He read the next step.

"Step 7: Wear the ring, try it on your forefinger first. Sorry, it might be hurtful."

"How can wearing a ring hurt me? Perhaps, I'm being pampered too much," Laven laughed.

He slid the ring on his forefinger. It fitted perfectly.

A smile made it's way onto his face.

"Perfect!" he adored the ring on his finger.

Suddenly, his body started shaking. The finger on which he wore the ring started aching terribly, the pain spread to the other parts of his body quickly.

His mind went blank. He couldn't understand why his body was reacting so violently. The pain was unbearable.

His eyes rolled up. He lost his consciousness and fell with his body still shaking like a leaf.